At the Conservative party conference in Birmingham this morning, the Tory leadership candidates set out their stalls. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch said it was essential that there was a ‘shared culture and a shared identity’ in the UK, and that it was important to choose ‘who comes into the country’. Asked which cultures in particular were less valid, Badenoch said: ‘lots… cultures that believe in child marriage.. or that women don’t have equal rights’. Pressed to be more specific, Badenoch told Kuenssberg: ‘I know what you’re trying to do. You want me to say Muslims. But it isn’t all Muslims.’ Badenoch argued that we need to emphasise ‘the thing that we share… British values’. Kuenssberg suggested Badenoch might herself be emphasising difference and conflict with her words.
Badenoch: ‘What Israel did was extraordinary’
Asked by Trevor Phillips what she would say to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if she was Conservative leader, Badenoch said she would be ‘congratulating’ him, and that Israel had shown it had ‘moral clarity in dealing with its enemies and the enemies of the West’. Badenoch also suggested that the killing of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah will create ‘more peace in the Middle East’. Phillips asked if that meant Badenoch would give Israel a ‘free pass’. Badenoch claimed no ‘red lines’ in international law had been crossed by the IDF.
Robert Jenrick: ‘I don’t agree that the age of mass migrations has made our country richer’
Former immigration minister and Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick was asked by Laura Kuenssberg if he would accept the economy suffering in order to bring levels of immigration down. Jenrick claimed that higher immigration numbers have not led to record growth, and that ‘the types of people coming into our country… are actually costing the economy money’. Kuenssberg pointed that people also want enough carers and nurses and asked if Jenrick would allow job positions to stay vacant if immigration came down. Jenrick said it was important to deliver on immigration promises, and suggested it would be possible to get people out of welfare into work, and pay carers more, rather than ‘bringing people from overseas’.
Jenrick defends ‘perfectly legal’ £75,000 donation from company with no profits
With Labour still mired in controversy over donations, Trevor Phillips asked Jenrick about a £75,000 donation to his campaign from a fitness company with no employees or history of profit. Jenrick described it as a ‘perfectly valid and legal donation’, but refused to name anyone behind the company, saying it was ‘set out on Companies House in the normal way’. He said the owners of the company supported his vision, and then contrasted the story with the ‘rank hypocrisy’ of Labour.
Rosie Duffield: ‘It’s more about greed and power than it is about making a difference’
In a resignation letter to the Prime Minister yesterday, MP Rosie Duffield accused Starmer of ‘sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice’. Speaking to Kuenssberg, Duffield said she couldn’t be a part of ‘mass hypocrisy’, after seeing Starmer accepting gifts whilst ‘cutting the money to people who earn a fraction of what we do’. Kuenssberg pointed out that Duffield’s relations with Labour leadership have been strained for a while, and that people would have voted for her as a Labour MP. Duffield apologised, and said she it was ‘profoundly disappointing’ that she had to leave the party.
Pat McFadden: No suggestion of ‘giving X to get Y’ with Starmer donations
Cabinet office minister McFadden told Kuenssberg he wasn’t surprised at Duffield’s resignation, because he could ‘clearly see’ she had been ‘disillusioned… for quite a long time’. Kuenssberg pointed out that Duffield specifically spoke about the £32,000 in free clothes accepted by the Prime Minister. McFadden claimed ‘there would be more in this’ if Lord Alli had received anything in return, and said there wasn’t ‘any equivalence at all’ with the scandals of the Conservative government. McFadden said that rules would be tightened in the future, with shadow ministers having to declare donations in the same way as ministers.
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