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Liz Truss has told the Conservative Party conference that it is “pathetic” to claim she is to blame for the economic meltdown follwoing her mini-budget.
During a fringe event, the unrepentant former prime minister dismissed Theresa May’s claim that she destroyed the party’s reputation after her economic policies.
She also lashed out at the four Tory MPs vying to replace Rishi Sunak as the party’s leader, claiming she will not endorse any of the candidates.
But she agreed with Kemi Badenoch’s controversial comments about maternity pay being “excessive”, and revealed she would be “really happy” with Robert Jenrick‘s suggestion to have the Star of David at UK borders.
It comes after Mr Jenrick described illegal migrants as “terrorists on our streets terrorising our citizens” during a rally at the conference.
During his speech, the former minister said the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is a “leave or die” issue for the Tories and urged to exit the convention.
Mr Jenrick also called for the Star of David to be displayed at every point of entry to the UK to show “we stand with Israel” while wearing a “Hamas Are Terrorists” hoodie at a Conservative Friends of Israel fringe event.
The Independent’s political team will be reporting live throughout the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Liz Truss tried to play the (‘anyone but me’) blame game – but (guess what!) she blew that, too
I don’t know which would be worse: if it turned out that Liz Truss didn’t actually believe a word she says and was just trying to kowtow to the lowest common denominator – or if she really is just… like that.
While the event itself didn’t make any clearer the true depths of her political convictions, what it did make clear is that Truss is on a one-woman mission to “save the Western world” – although, based on the content of her answers, it seems like “the Western world” is just a fun nickname for “her own reputation”. Actually, maybe it wasn’t so clear after all.
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Holly Evans1 October 2024 05:00
Who should be the next leader of the Tory party? Join The Independent Debate
Holly Evans1 October 2024 04:00
Fake tan, friendship beads and Bobby J hats handed out to win over Tories
While the usual fare of pens, badges and stickers are all available, each one – Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly – has tried to beat the competition with eye-catching gimmicks.
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Holly Evans1 October 2024 03:00
Unemployed ex-Tory MP blames ‘woke agenda’ for being unable to find job
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Holly Evans1 October 2024 02:00
Kemi Badenoch praises Israel’s ‘amazing’ defence tactics
Kemi Badenoch has praised Israel’s defence tactics, saying that they did an “amazing thing with the pagers”.
Earlier this month, Hezbollah suffered an attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies that killed dozens of people and wounded around 3,000 – including many fighters but also many civilians.
Israel has appeared to deny involvement with the fatal incident, with its president Isaac Herzog saying he “rejects out of hand any connection” to the operation.
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Holly Evans1 October 2024 01:00
Which Conservative candidate’s merchandise is most popular at Tory party conference?
Holly Evans1 October 2024 00:00
Liz Truss claims she would have secured better Tory result at general election than Rishi Sunak
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Holly Evans30 September 2024 23:00
New mums like me should be grateful to Kemi Badenoch – but not because she’s talking sense
I didn’t expect to feel grateful to Kemi Badenoch this morning.
After a bit more kip, however, I’ve decided I actually feel oddly thankful to Badenoch – for inadvertently highlighting an issue that’s the bane of many women’s lives: that statutory maternity leave is not just insufficient but insulting, too.
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Holly Evans30 September 2024 22:00
Chancellor ‘sees more black holes than Mr Spock’, says Tom Tugendhat
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves “sees more black holes than Mr Spock”, a Conservative leadership hopeful has claimed.
Tom Tugendhat said October’s Budget could “destroy growth” in the UK and he branded VAT on private schools a “vindictive and nasty policy”.
The shadow security minister faces Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick in his party’s leadership contest, with Rishi Sunak’s successor due to be announced on November 2.
Taking questions on the Conservative Party conference main stage in Birmingham on Monday, Mr Tugendhat said: “This is going to be one of the most consequential budgets in our lifetime. This is going to be a Budget that takes us back to the 1970s not forward to the future.
“This is a Budget that is going to destroy growth, destroy opportunity and destroy hope for people, and don’t just take my word for it, look at what’s happening right now.”
Holly Evans30 September 2024 21:30
The UK is in desperate need of an effective opposition
If the atmosphere at the Labour conference was a good deal less euphoric than might have been expected for a party just returning to government on the back of a landslide majority after 14 years in the wilderness, the mood among Conservatives as they assembled in Birmingham was a little more upbeat than might have been predicted, given the scale of the party’s election defeat.
This slight uplift, however, largely reflected the missteps of the new government in its first weeks, rather than any achievement of the Conservatives over the same time.
Read the full editorial here:
Holly Evans30 September 2024 21:10