Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
The Tories LOST seats in Westminster Council election did they not?
They won a Council by losing less seats than the incumbent.
Any rational person with any degree of humility would accept that with minimal fuss.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Kemi's rise in popularity obviously triggers you but it is undeniable her position has changed positively
She will change the party image in time and for all the attacks she receives on here from the usual suspects she is also gaining recognition from others
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The Tories won Westminster, Enfield and held Harlow, Broxbourne and Fareham and Kensington and Chelsea and lead Redditch and Hampshire, Gosport and Basildon councils after deals with Reform
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
If she's serious, this is good news. The party has been destroyed by selecting candidates ranging from merely awful to sociopathic in recent times. There are endless horror stories about it. Even as Boris removed the wets the party management was selecting worse ones. I hope there's also a significant role for local associations.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
If she's serious, this is good news. The party has been destroyed by selecting candidates ranging from merely awful to sociopathic in recent times. There are endless horror stories about it. Even as Boris removed the wets the party management was selecting worse ones. I hope there's also a significant role for local associations.
Local associations must have more role in picking the shortlist which they were largely denied at the last general election, even if CCHQ controls the approved candidates list
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The Tories won Westminster, Enfield and held Harlow, Broxbourne and Fareham and Kensington and Chelsea and lead Redditch and Hampshire, Gosport and Basildon councils after deals with Reform
Plus the Tories regained control of Wandsworth council too last week after a deal with an Independent
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The Tories won Westminster, Enfield and held Harlow, Broxbourne and Fareham and Kensington and Chelsea and lead Redditch and Hampshire, Gosport and Basildon councils after deals with Reform
THEY HELD HARLOW. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND. THEY HELD HARLOW.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Somebody who said we have nothing to fear and everything to gain from Communist China describing someone ELSE as politically illiterate and seriously deluded?
Maybe it's not just the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition who needs to look in the mirror?
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
It's not entirely her fault, in the 'normal' course of events the party would probably have had an entire parliamentary term to lick their wounds after a Labour landslide without that much pressure on their status as main opposition, but the situation facing them now is different and is genuinely existential, and she is not able to rise to that challenge - maybe no one could.
I agree with her words about the role of MPs and getting those types of people into politics, but she's still dependent on outside factors for the party to survive, let alone thrive, and that is not a comfortable position to be in.
Insiders also say Andy Burnham is lining up Shabana Mahmood for Chancellor.
Her experience looking at the numbers was 5 minutes of shadow work experience under Harriet Harman's caretaker role.
Best Chancellor of my lifetime was a lawyer, just like Shabana Mahmood.
Lawyers are polymaths.
Gordon Brown was an historian, you fool, not a lawyer.
Economic history though.
He means Kenneth Clarke and I think he is right. Certainly not Gordon Brown.
Maybe I'm a little bit older but for me it was Nigel Lawson, followed by George Osborne followed by Ken Clarke.
I was four when Nigel Lawson became Chancellor.
I'd have been six.
Technically I'd been alive through the back-end of Healey and all of Howe, but Lawson was 'my first Chancellor' - the first one I was ever aware of as being the incumbent. And these things stick with you.
There's a bit of my mind where Thatcher is PM, Lawson is Chancellor, Kinnock is LOTO, Davison is The Doctor, Moore is 007... and it's always going to stay that way...
But even allowing for nostalgia feeling like it always delivers the correct answer, I think there is a strong case that Lawson pips Osborne to the top spot.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The Tories won Westminster, Enfield and held Harlow, Broxbourne and Fareham and Kensington and Chelsea and lead Redditch and Hampshire, Gosport and Basildon councils after deals with Reform
I would list all the areas where they were on the receiving end of a shellacking, but I want to get some sleep tonight.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
If she's serious, this is good news. The party has been destroyed by selecting candidates ranging from merely awful to sociopathic in recent times. There are endless horror stories about it. Even as Boris removed the wets the party management was selecting worse ones. I hope there's also a significant role for local associations.
Local associations must have more role in picking the shortlist which they were largely denied at the last general election...
Why must they?
I don't mean that local parties picking candidates is inherently bad, and obviously it pleases members and may not be unreasonable to give them roles purely on a party management basis. But I'm curious if there is any indication the quality of locally picked candidates is any better than centralised control, or indeed whether either way does better come election time?
I'd assume the effect is minimal, some right duffers parachuted in by national parties win all the time when the parties do well, but curious if outside party management there is any genuine benefit to be had.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Kemi's rise in popularity obviously triggers you but it is undeniable her position has changed positively
She will change the party image in time and for all the attacks she receives on here from the usual suspects she is also gaining recognition from others
She's changing the Conservatives' image from that of the main party of opposition to one of irrelevance.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
The Tories LOST seats in Westminster Council election did they not?
Losing less than others - story of 21st century 'success'?
I'm sure you're not 100% serious about the lowering of standards, but the widening of backgrounds would in general be a good thing. Not to fetishise the working and lower middle classes and assume they'd make better MPs (no reason they should), but doctors and lawyers are more than capable of being utter cretins (twitter has shown this many times), but they get a presumed level of positive quality even when (for lawyers at least) they are not liked or trusted. Whereas a builder might be accused of being sneaky if they are very obviously clever, as if that was a bad thing.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Kemi's rise in popularity obviously triggers you but it is undeniable her position has changed positively
She will change the party image in time and for all the attacks she receives on here from the usual suspects she is also gaining recognition from others
She's changing the Conservatives' image from that of the main party of opposition to one of irrelevance.
I think if you told a casual political observer that the Tories were the official opposition they'd be quite surprised, and would assume Reform already filled that role. The locals in the last 2 years will have been part of that, but not the only thing - fighting for attention is hard, but with the largest minority group of MPs the party should be better at it.
I'm sure you're not 100% serious about the lowering of standards, but the widening of backgrounds would in general be a good thing. Not to fetishise the working and lower middle classes and assume they'd make better MPs (no reason they should), but doctors and lawyers are more than capable of being utter cretins (twitter has shown this many times), but they get a presumed level of positive quality even when (for lawyers at least) they are not liked or trusted. Whereas a builder might be accused of being sneaky if they are very obviously clever, as if that was a bad thing.
Given on current polls if you are selected as a Conservative parliamentary candidate you only have about a 10-15% chance of winning a constituency at the next general election and becoming an MP, makes sense for Kemi to open the field to a broader range of applicants.
The very high flying KCs and investment bankers and city solicitors and company execs who sought Tory seats and a fast track to the Cabinet aren't going to be deluging CCHQ and local associations with applications this time round
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
If she's serious, this is good news. The party has been destroyed by selecting candidates ranging from merely awful to sociopathic in recent times. There are endless horror stories about it. Even as Boris removed the wets the party management was selecting worse ones. I hope there's also a significant role for local associations.
Local associations must have more role in picking the shortlist which they were largely denied at the last general election...
Why must they?
I don't mean that local parties picking candidates is inherently bad, and obviously it pleases members and may not be unreasonable to give them roles purely on a party management basis. But I'm curious if there is any indication the quality of locally picked candidates is any better than centralised control, or indeed whether either way does better come election time?
I'd assume the effect is minimal, some right duffers parachuted in by national parties win all the time when the parties do well, but curious if outside party management there is any genuine benefit to be had.
On principle local members should have the final say on who their candidate is, once a candidate is on the approved party list let local associations decide who the candidate they want to campaign for will be
I'm sure you're not 100% serious about the lowering of standards, but the widening of backgrounds would in general be a good thing. Not to fetishise the working and lower middle classes and assume they'd make better MPs (no reason they should), but doctors and lawyers are more than capable of being utter cretins (twitter has shown this many times), but they get a presumed level of positive quality even when (for lawyers at least) they are not liked or trusted. Whereas a builder might be accused of being sneaky if they are very obviously clever, as if that was a bad thing.
Indeed.
The best known story about Lord "Jack" Weatherill, former Speaker of the House of Commons, who has died aged 86, concerns a conversation he overheard in the members' toilets after the 1964 general election. A crusty old shire Tory was grumbling that he didn't know what the country was coming to; why, even his tailor had been elected. Weatherill, who had just succeeded a grand admiral as Conservative MP for Croydon North East, always carried a silver thimble in his pocket, a reminder of his family origins - as a tailor.
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
Politicians have this weird thing where they think themselves too powerless to do many things they could do if they had the political will, but also think themselves too powerful in that they think they can precisely control (rather than influence) any external factors, or ignore inconvenient things as being undemocratic. Even autocratic regimes, historically and today, have situations they cannot just ignore away.
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
I must stop being in "hock" to my bank manager. I am entitled to borrow whatever I want, when I want, whether or not I have the means to pay to pay it all back! 😂
Kemi herself has no achievements of note in her career other than hacking Harriet Harman’s website.
Better than just shittalking people on twitter as an achievement, Zia? He's the online tough guy of the Reform leadership clique, at least Jenrick occasionally has some things to say.
I'm sure you're not 100% serious about the lowering of standards, but the widening of backgrounds would in general be a good thing. Not to fetishise the working and lower middle classes and assume they'd make better MPs (no reason they should), but doctors and lawyers are more than capable of being utter cretins (twitter has shown this many times), but they get a presumed level of positive quality even when (for lawyers at least) they are not liked or trusted. Whereas a builder might be accused of being sneaky if they are very obviously clever, as if that was a bad thing.
Both Blair's labour and Thatchers conservatives appealed to a wide demographic. Blair made centre right folk happy to vote labour. Thatcher convince enough people that she had the answers to changing the trajectory of declinism. I see no leader of Labour or Tory that gets this yet. Badenochs schtick seems to be staying upbeat and to a small extent it's working. No great uplift in the polls but it's not getting worse. Starmers unfairly seems despised. And he lacks the ability to change the narrative.
Trying to get builders and teachers back on brand Tory would be a step in the right direction to a more one nation conservative outlook.
I must stop being in hock to my bank manager. I am entitled to borrow whatever I want, when I want, whether or not I have the means to pay to pay it all back! 😂
I'd like to think even we the British public would have limits on pissing into the wind as a political policy, but I'm not sure we do.
The criticism should continue, irrespective of whether it is 'working', since it remains reasonable to criticise. Things don't have to have political advantage to justify being raised.
The criticism should continue, irrespective of whether it is 'working', since it remains reasonable to criticise. Things don't have to have political advantage to justify being raised.
Yes, I’ve been greatly touched by the sincere concern for we poor defrauded SNP members.
Which if Farage becomes PM doesn't mean anything, they would have more influence in a hung parliament with Burnham PM and needing their support
I doubt influence is what they are after. Boosting support, for themselves and Indy, is. Obviously the procedural path to Independence is still tricky, but the level of Sindy support has been pretty stable for years, so if something boosts that number it at least drives momentum which they might take advantage of some day, even if right now they are not sure how.
Kemi is lowering standards, ferfuxake, what a terrible idea.
Builders as Tory MPs?
We have bloodsucking lawyers as Tory MPs.
Not many now, there is only 1 lawyer in Kemi's Shadow Cabinet, Victoria Atkins other than Lord Wolfson, who as Shadow AG attends but is not a member of the Shadow Cabinet
Which if Farage becomes PM doesn't mean anything, they would have more influence in a hung parliament with Burnham PM and needing their support
I doubt influence is what they are after. Boosting support, for themselves and Indy, is. Obviously the procedural path to Independence is still tricky, but the level of Sindy support has been pretty stable for years, so if something boosts that number it at least drives momentum which they might take advantage of some day, even if right now they are not sure how.
They could have 99% support for indy but it means sod all if Farage has a majority alone or with the Tories as he will completely ignore it
The criticism should continue, irrespective of whether it is 'working', since it remains reasonable to criticise. Things don't have to have political advantage to justify being raised.
Yes, I’ve been greatly touched by the sincere concern for we poor defrauded SNP members.
So because many do want to get political advantage out of the situation and may couch their questions in faux concern for others the genuine criticisms of how the political leadership failed to prevent the crimes taking place should just not happen?
I'm genuinely confused as to what you think may be appropriate in the situation, since if we just ignore political criticism because many(most) of those criticising have skin in the game as it were, we'd never get much criticism at all. Almost by definition the side being criticised will (almost) never acknowledge fault beyond the 'sorry we got fooled' stage, and the side doing the criticising will overdo it in an effort to maximise their own advantage.
One think I am curious about is what measures parties with bigger organisations have in place to, hopefully, prevent them from being ripped off.
Which if Farage becomes PM doesn't mean anything, they would have more influence in a hung parliament with Burnham PM and needing their support
I doubt influence is what they are after. Boosting support, for themselves and Indy, is. Obviously the procedural path to Independence is still tricky, but the level of Sindy support has been pretty stable for years, so if something boosts that number it at least drives momentum which they might take advantage of some day, even if right now they are not sure how.
They could have 99% support for indy but it means sod all if Farage has a majority alone or with the Tories as he will completely ignore it
Yes yes, we're all well aware of the legal situation, but can you find it in yourself to accept that some things in politics are a little intangible, or indirect?
My point was very deliberately NOT that increasing SNP and Sindy support would enable them to clearly go for independence, but that increasing Sindy support matters more than 'influence' in Westminster, even if it doesn't immediately open up a path to actually getting independence.
Because increasing support for it is good for them, as a party, see? For one thing that helps them maintain control at Holyrood, when they actually lost seats this time even though they still won most seats easily.
Which if Farage becomes PM doesn't mean anything, they would have more influence in a hung parliament with Burnham PM and needing their support
I doubt influence is what they are after. Boosting support, for themselves and Indy, is. Obviously the procedural path to Independence is still tricky, but the level of Sindy support has been pretty stable for years, so if something boosts that number it at least drives momentum which they might take advantage of some day, even if right now they are not sure how.
They could have 99% support for indy but it means sod all if Farage has a majority alone or with the Tories as he will completely ignore it
Yes yes, we're all well aware of the legal situation, but can you find it in yourself to accept that some things in politics are a little intangible, or indirect?
My point was very deliberately NOT that increasing SNP and Sindy support would enable them to clearly go for independence, but that increasing Sindy support matters more than 'influence' in Westminster, even if it doesn't immediately open up a path to actually getting independence.
Because increasing support for it is good for them, as a party, see? For one thing that helps them maintain control at Holyrood, when they actually lost seats this time even though they still won most seats easily.
The SNP got 38% in this year's Holyrood constituency vote so on the new Norstat Westminster poll the SNP are already down 4% on what they got on May 7th
On the one hand Starmer isn't having to deal with this sort of thing. On the other hand, that's because he's lost all authority after less than 2 years, so they haven't had the chance to get accused of such things yet.
1 June marks exactly eight years since Pedro Sánchez became prime minister of Spain, but with his government and Socialist Party besieged by corruption investigations he is more likely to be plotting his political survival than celebrating.
His musician brother, David, has just gone on trial accused of influence peddling.
Former Socialist prime minister and close Sánchez ally José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been named in an investigation into alleged money laundering.
The criticism should continue, irrespective of whether it is 'working', since it remains reasonable to criticise. Things don't have to have political advantage to justify being raised.
Yes, I’ve been greatly touched by the sincere concern for we poor defrauded SNP members.
Oh dear, did you contribute to the 'fighting fund'? Is there a gold-plated bog brush with your name on it?
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
And the Greens promise more of the same.
No, they promise to do a lot more of it.
Not necessarily.
Were they to crash the economy, requiring an IMF rescue, we might be forced to retrench like Greece...
They pretty much did vote for them, when they voted in Governments who spent more than they took in tax.
Populism in a nutshell. It sounds an easy hit. Bond markets? Yeh, bastards. All evil. All billionaires. etc etc. We don't need them. F*ck 'em.
Back in planet reality, they are are just our creditors.
We borrow and we owe.
Increasingly thanks to the destruction of the Final Salary Pension system they are foreign.
But it doesn't matter how you dress it up and squeal and rage and shout and shout until you are sick that it is not fair, the country borrowed the money and the country owes the money.
Leader of the British Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks to the media outside Westminster Town Hall after winning the Westminster Council from the ruling Labour Party at the local elections, in London, Britain, 08 May 2026
Kemi Badenoch vowed to ‘reverse the culture that has turned legislators into social workers’
Kemi Badenoch has pledged that the next generation of Conservative MPs will “focus on the big decisions” instead of acting as glorified social workers.
The Tory leader also promised that parliamentary business would not be allowed to overwhelm the busy schedules of the professionals she is seeking to attract to the party.
“Britain needs serious people to steer us through serious times,” she said, and believed people working as teachers, engineers, electricians and builders should consider entering political life.
Writing for The Telegraph, she called the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had.
Under her watch there's not going to be another generation of Tory MPs.
In your opinion-other opinions are available
Not my opinion, just have a look at the recent elections.
She says this 'the current Labour Government the most economically illiterate and the most unserious the country has ever had' so why are the Tories going backwards in every election fought under her watch, the Tories should be making net gains.
The election that counts is 3 years away
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
She needs to look in the mirror.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
Kemi's rise in popularity obviously triggers you but it is undeniable her position has changed positively
She will change the party image in time and for all the attacks she receives on here from the usual suspects she is also gaining recognition from others
Yes they did. Every time they elected a government whose priorities were spend, spend, spend, rather than balancing the books, they were voting to increase the power of the bond markets.
Granted, that may not have been quite how it was expressed in the various manifestos, but it was what it meant all the same. The last chancellor to attempt to reduce the power of bond market was George Osborne, and he only got halfway to undoing Gordon Brown's profligacy before events removed him from office.
It would be quite easy, at least in principle, not to be in hock to the bond market. Cut government spending by £200bn/year, and we'd start paying down debt rather than increasing it, and as a bonus the interest rate on our remaining pile of debt would decrease substantially, thus creating a virtuous cycle where our debt servicing costs would fall, allowing us to repay debt faster, which would further reduce our debt servicing costs. Somehow however, I doubt it is this particular solution Zac is proposing.
Getting the feeling Burnham is not quite as nailed on in Makerfield as youse all seem to think. Still make him favourite but it isn't a done deal by any standards. It will be close as we speak. It's entirely possible Restore will do very well and come a comfortable third. But it's also possible that everyone else will be buttons.
They pretty much did vote for them, when they voted in Governments who spent more than they took in tax.
Indeed.
Consistently run a budget surplus and there's little the bond markets can or will do.
And you have fucked up your own private pension system to a certain extent which relies on gilt edged assets for secure liability.
Three considerations on that.
1) We currently are sat on a mountain of debt equal to around 100% of gdp. If we started running a modest surplus tomorrow, say £50bn/pa, it will be literally several lifetimes before we reduce the debt mountain enough to seriously trouble the supply of assets to our pension funds.
2) Gilts were often a key component of final salary pension schemes. They aren't usually nearly as big a component of contribution based pensions, so pension funds now hold far fewer gilts than 30 years ago. Instead a lot more gilts are held by hedge funds, often heavily leveraged, which tends to make the bond markets substantially more volatile than they used to be.
3) If we somehow paid down the entire national debt, and pension funds really need government bonds to hold, there will always be plenty of debt available from other countries, at various prices for various levels of risk, including some very low risk bonds similar to ours.
They pretty much did vote for them, when they voted in Governments who spent more than they took in tax.
Indeed.
Consistently run a budget surplus and there's little the bond markets can or will do.
Yes. Any ideas how to do that and be re elected?
Seriously? Go in, day 1, do it. Take an axe to spending left right and centre. In particular, axe some whole programs, rather than trying to trim everything.
Welfare, pensions etc goes in the blender, comes out cheaper and less wide ranging.
Bin most of the MOD, sack all the procurement staff, buy standard kit wherever possible. It's apparent we've no meaningful capability left anyway, so why are we wasting all the cash?
Same time, bonfire of regulation, and get the entire tax code down to 4 sides of A4 at 11 point text. Simple, straightforward taxation. Tax consumption rather than employment as far as possible.
Explain that it's going to be painful, that the payoff won't be instant, but it will all be worth it.
Grit your teeth and get on with it for 4 years, hopefully without too many riots. With any luck, by then your deregulation and tax simplification will start to get the economy motoring, and your fiscal position is improving substantially. Use some of your accumulated savings to pay for tax cuts as you approach the GE.
Also - be straight and level with people about what you're doing and why. Avoid scandals, drop any misbehaving MPs instantly. Ensure no one has a just cause against you, other than a dislike of your actual policies.
Do all that, and you'll be hitting Starmer levels of popularity in years 2-3, but should bounce back magnificently as the payoff starts to occur.
They pretty much did vote for them, when they voted in Governments who spent more than they took in tax.
Indeed.
Consistently run a budget surplus and there's little the bond markets can or will do.
Yes. Any ideas how to do that and be re elected?
Seriously? Go in, day 1, do it. Take an axe to spending left right and centre. In particular, axe some whole programs, rather than trying to trim everything.
Welfare, pensions etc goes in the blender, comes out cheaper and less wide ranging.
Bin most of the MOD, sack all the procurement staff, buy standard kit wherever possible. It's apparent we've no meaningful capability left anyway, so why are we wasting all the cash?
Same time, bonfire of regulation, and get the entire tax code down to 4 sides of A4 at 11 point text. Simple, straightforward taxation. Tax consumption rather than employment as far as possible.
Explain that it's going to be painful, that the payoff won't be instant, but it will all be worth it.
Grit your teeth and get on with it for 4 years, hopefully without too many riots. With any luck, by then your deregulation and tax simplification will start to get the economy motoring, and your fiscal position is improving substantially. Use some of your accumulated savings to pay for tax cuts as you approach the GE.
Also - be straight and level with people about what you're doing and why. Avoid scandals, drop any misbehaving MPs instantly. Ensure no one has a just cause against you, other than a dislike of your actual policies.
Do all that, and you'll be hitting Starmer levels of popularity in years 2-3, but should bounce back magnificently as the payoff starts to occur.
Needs to be higher than 11 point text so that the pensioners can read about everything they are losing.
‘I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it.’ - Sir Winston Churchill. I definitely needed it after that penalty shoot-out. But as we flew home tonight, I remembered we’re Champions of England. I love you all @Arsenal ❤️
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
And the Greens promise more of the same.
Up to a point, since the Bank of England's quantitative tightening makes us more susceptible than needs be.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
If she's serious, this is good news. The party has been destroyed by selecting candidates ranging from merely awful to sociopathic in recent times. There are endless horror stories about it. Even as Boris removed the wets the party management was selecting worse ones. I hope there's also a significant role for local associations.
That’s got to be an improvement on simply deciding based on whether the numpties before them support a no-deal Brexit or not?
But ministers have asked train companies to reduce their services this summer in an effort to save money, and GTR will cut dozens of daily services from its schedules between July 18 and the end of August.
So matching supply with demand during the summer holidays.
It almost sounds like the market in action.
Nope.
A dozen trains per day will be scrapped from Thameslink’s Greenwich line services alone, according to internal briefing notes for staff seen by The Telegraph, and Greenwich council has urged ministers to reconsider cuts which fall at the height of the tourist season.
Calum O’Byrne Mulligan*, the cabinet member for climate action, sustainability and transport, said: “A reliable and regular rail service is vital for residents right across Greenwich, and so any reduction in services – even if just for a period of time – through any part of our borough would be very disappointing.”
He told the local Greenwich Wire news website: “I did not receive a formal notification of the timetable changes, and we have sought clarification from Thameslink, urging them to reconsider any potential timetable changes during the school holidays and busiest tourism season.”
*He's a Labour councillor
Greenwich will still have three trains to London each hour.
I don't know how "the tourists" get to Greenwich.
The other options are the DLR or the Thames Clippers riverboat service.
Thames Path too. Or various buses.
On a walk from London Bridge to Greenwich, you pass the place in Rotherhithe where the Mayflower took on passengers. So there were a few East End geezers amongst the first Americans,
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
FINALLY...Kemi brags about being an Engineer!
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
They pretty much did vote for them, when they voted in Governments who spent more than they took in tax.
Indeed.
Consistently run a budget surplus and there's little the bond markets can or will do.
Yes. Any ideas how to do that and be re elected?
Seriously? Go in, day 1, do it. Take an axe to spending left right and centre. In particular, axe some whole programs, rather than trying to trim everything.
Welfare, pensions etc goes in the blender, comes out cheaper and less wide ranging.
Bin most of the MOD, sack all the procurement staff, buy standard kit wherever possible. It's apparent we've no meaningful capability left anyway, so why are we wasting all the cash?
Same time, bonfire of regulation, and get the entire tax code down to 4 sides of A4 at 11 point text. Simple, straightforward taxation. Tax consumption rather than employment as far as possible.
Explain that it's going to be painful, that the payoff won't be instant, but it will all be worth it.
Grit your teeth and get on with it for 4 years, hopefully without too many riots. With any luck, by then your deregulation and tax simplification will start to get the economy motoring, and your fiscal position is improving substantially. Use some of your accumulated savings to pay for tax cuts as you approach the GE.
Also - be straight and level with people about what you're doing and why. Avoid scandals, drop any misbehaving MPs instantly. Ensure no one has a just cause against you, other than a dislike of your actual policies.
Do all that, and you'll be hitting Starmer levels of popularity in years 2-3, but should bounce back magnificently as the payoff starts to occur.
Serious cuts to welfare are guaranteed to tank the economy because every penny of that gets spent on consumption. That coupled with a rapid shift to consumption taxes would cause a depression-level recession.
Wealth and property tax otoh would have little effect on consumption whilst providing an opportunity to cut the deficit and eventually reduce debt.
Level the playing field on income tax / NI so that earned income is not taxed at higher rates than investment/pension income.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
FINALLY...Kemi brags about being an Engineer!
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
I'm obviously no fan of Badenoch's but that post is just offensive stupidity.
Gemini summarises her pre-politics work experience thus:
Private Sector & Professional Experience (2003–2016)
Badenoch holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Sussex and a part-time Law degree from Birkbeck, University of London.
Software Engineer at Logica: Worked in the information technology sector from 2003 to 2006 for the tech firm Logica (which later became part of CGI Inc).
Systems Analyst at RBS: Moved into financial tech, working on systems analysis and technology change programmes for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Associate Director at Coutts: Spent several years (2006–2013) at the private wealth manager and bank Coutts & Co., transitioning from tech infrastructure roles into financial compliance following the 2008 financial crisis.
Digital Director at The Spectator: Headed up the non-editorial digital department for The Spectator magazine from 2015 to 2016.
Impossible to tell the depth or quality of those roles from that but it's clearly more than 'very low level of work experience'.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
FINALLY...Kemi brags about being an Engineer!
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
And the Greens promise more of the same.
No, they promise to do a lot more of it.
Not necessarily.
Were they to crash the economy, requiring an IMF rescue, we might be forced to retrench like Greece...
Right now the IMF are forecasting the UK fiscal position to improve from around the middle of the G7 pack to having the smallest deficit as a % of GDP in the next few years. We are the only major economy expected to significantly reduce our deficit in the years ahead.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
FINALLY...Kemi brags about being an Engineer!
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
Someone tell the fucking idiot that the electorate keeps voting for governments who spend far more than they raise in taxation, so we did vote to be in hock to the bond markets.
And the Greens promise more of the same.
No, they promise to do a lot more of it.
Not necessarily.
Were they to crash the economy, requiring an IMF rescue, we might be forced to retrench like Greece...
Right now the IMF are forecasting the UK fiscal position to improve from around the middle of the G7 pack to having the smallest deficit as a % of GDP in the next few years. We are the only major economy expected to significantly reduce our deficit in the years ahead.
'Future Tory candidate selection, she said, would focus on the five C’s – cleverness, charisma, communication skills, conviction and Conservatism.
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
What is capital C Conservatism? People have very different ideas about that.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
Will they have to provide certification for cleverness, whatever that is as she palpapbly can't according to US sources
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst not a lawyer or PPE or Humanities graduate so I suppose she wants some more practical people like her
FINALLY...Kemi brags about being an Engineer!
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
The Kemi-hate is strong with this one.
As is the misogyny.
The treble-chin-and-gin ignorance is of note. The belief that IT is just about “make my Excel work” is why many U.K. software startups end up seeking US investment.
It is very funny that they're concerned about the "dignity" of the vice presidency.
“Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, recently advised Mr. Vance to take a break from social media, as have other officials in the West Wing, according to people familiar with those interactions, because the fighting was beneath his office” https://x.com/JoshKraushaar/status/2060690078167441670
The Trump administration is considering excluding Chinese biotech from deals in the US.
There is a fundamental flaw with the argument: “U.S. is 70% of global profits in tx and therefore can dictate which therapies are allowed in the U.S., including excluding China assets".
The weight bearing assumption is that China’s biotech industry will not be able to sustain itself without US market.
This does not conform with reality.
Prior to 2022, Chinese biotech industry had minimal capital inflows from outlicensing / newco’s to US / Western pharma AND a very austere tx pricing environment domestically. Yet significant companies grew to dominate the domestic market, and many Chinese biotechs managed to move up the innovation curve.
Do you think that Chinese biotechs sprang up overnight in Dec 2022 when this out licensing wave started? Akeso, Keymed, Hengrui, Hansoh, Innovent, and so many others have been around for years - pretty much all of them starting off by making drugs for the domestic China market. US out licensing deals were few and far in between, and yet many of them became $ B+ or $10’s Bn companies in the process.
Furthermore, in recent months the Chinese payor market is now getting better at rewarding true innovation. 2025 NRDL reform introduced a higher pricing tier for true innovation (not me-betters). Domestic economics for first-in-class assets are getting meaningfully stronger, regardless of the exit to Western pharma path.
From a unit economics perspective, "removing the exit to the West will kill Chinese biotech progress" argument just isn’t supported by facts on the ground.
Another serious drawback to the banning argument is that presumes Chinese drugs are only me betters or me toos that are knock offs of western efforts (and will continue to be).
This, too, does not conform with reality.
Chinese biotechs are now making net new innovative drugs across ADCs, in vivo CARs, genetic medicines and many more modalities, going after novel targets, payloads, and incorporating delivery tech that we have not seen here in the west; and if they work clinically - US patients will want access to as they will improve the clinical treatment paradigm.
I have spoken to the Chinese biotech CEOs and seen these programs. Some will work and some won’t (that’s just drug discovery), but they are coming, and there is no use in arguing about it.
Do you think it will be acceptable that US patients will not have access to best in class / first in class drugs?
so to summarize: in the US, we have an industry that is *losing* pricing power (no matter if R or Ds are in power, tx pricing pressure is on the docket), trying to keep drugs being made from a country with *increasing* pricing power (based on government support) out, at a time when those drugs are increasingly innovative.
Comments
I remain confident, despite the contrary views on here, Kemi will overtake Farage as the centre right party by GE 29
And her comments on labour are succinct
https://www.mshinstitute.org/volcano-cam
Dalai Lama.
She'll see someone politically, emotionally and empathetically illiterate and seriously deluded and utterly arrogant.
They won a Council by losing less seats than the incumbent.
Any rational person with any degree of humility would accept that with minimal fuss.
https://x.com/LucAuffret/status/2060815701581918219
She will change the party image in time and for all the attacks she receives on here from the usual suspects she is also gaining recognition from others
“I will not allow people who do not share our beliefs to use the Conservative Party as a vehicle to further their personal ambitions,” she added.'
https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/people/doncaster-mp-ed-miliband-pays-tribute-to-extraordinary-mum-after-death-at-91-8649775
https://x.com/french_report78/status/2060833143968391199
Maybe it's not just the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition who needs to look in the mirror?
I agree with her words about the role of MPs and getting those types of people into politics, but she's still dependent on outside factors for the party to survive, let alone thrive, and that is not a comfortable position to be in.
I'd have been six.
Technically I'd been alive through the back-end of Healey and all of Howe, but Lawson was 'my first Chancellor' - the first one I was ever aware of as being the incumbent. And these things stick with you.
There's a bit of my mind where Thatcher is PM, Lawson is Chancellor, Kinnock is LOTO, Davison is The Doctor, Moore is 007... and it's always going to stay that way...
But even allowing for nostalgia feeling like it always delivers the correct answer, I think there is a strong case that Lawson pips Osborne to the top spot.
Thesedays around half the people who might be interested in Conservatism are more excited by Reform - never mind if they are conservative or Conservative.
I don't mean that local parties picking candidates is inherently bad, and obviously it pleases members and may not be unreasonable to give them roles purely on a party management basis. But I'm curious if there is any indication the quality of locally picked candidates is any better than centralised control, or indeed whether either way does better come election time?
I'd assume the effect is minimal, some right duffers parachuted in by national parties win all the time when the parties do well, but curious if outside party management there is any genuine benefit to be had.
The very high flying KCs and investment bankers and city solicitors and company execs who sought Tory seats and a fast track to the Cabinet aren't going to be deluging CCHQ and local associations with applications this time round
Will she have yo evidence she has any charisma, she has none.
Will they only communicate on Twitter like her?
Will they have the conviction to deny saying she wanted to go to war with US v Iran when she definitely did, or will you need a conviction for web hacking?
FFS
She makes Truss look like Theresa
No one voted for the bond markets.
https://x.com/ZackPolanski/status/2060784820058235342
The best known story about Lord "Jack" Weatherill, former Speaker of the House of Commons, who has died aged 86, concerns a conversation he overheard in the members' toilets after the 1964 general election. A crusty old shire Tory was grumbling that he didn't know what the country was coming to; why, even his tailor had been elected. Weatherill, who had just succeeded a grand admiral as Conservative MP for Croydon North East, always carried a silver thimble in his pocket, a reminder of his family origins - as a tailor.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/may/08/guardianobituaries.obituaries
My problem with this policy is that it seems bigoted against middle class professionals.
Kemi herself has no achievements of note in her career other than hacking Harriet Harman’s website.
And the Greens promise more of the same.
Goes right from local level to national in fact.
Trying to get builders and teachers back on brand Tory would be a step in the right direction to a more one nation conservative outlook.
New Scotland Westminster poll.
Norstat (Sunday Times) 27-29 May (1,002)
34% (+5) SNP
17% (-1) Reform
16% (-3) Labour
(others not yet published)
Changes since Norstat 30 April.
https://x.com/ammacj/status/2060834557818007776?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
I'm genuinely confused as to what you think may be appropriate in the situation, since if we just ignore political criticism because many(most) of those criticising have skin in the game as it were, we'd never get much criticism at all. Almost by definition the side being criticised will (almost) never acknowledge fault beyond the 'sorry we got fooled' stage, and the side doing the criticising will overdo it in an effort to maximise their own advantage.
One think I am curious about is what measures parties with bigger organisations have in place to, hopefully, prevent them from being ripped off.
My point was very deliberately NOT that increasing SNP and Sindy support would enable them to clearly go for independence, but that increasing Sindy support matters more than 'influence' in Westminster, even if it doesn't immediately open up a path to actually getting independence.
Because increasing support for it is good for them, as a party, see? For one thing that helps them maintain control at Holyrood, when they actually lost seats this time even though they still won most seats easily.
1 June marks exactly eight years since Pedro Sánchez became prime minister of Spain, but with his government and Socialist Party besieged by corruption investigations he is more likely to be plotting his political survival than celebrating.
His musician brother, David, has just gone on trial accused of influence peddling.
Former Socialist prime minister and close Sánchez ally José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been named in an investigation into alleged money laundering.
And police have raided the Socialist headquarters in Madrid as part of a probe into allegations of a dirty tricks campaign that the opposition has dubbed "the Socialists' Watergate".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w21gn340xo?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
Time to just print print print. I'm no economist, but that cannot have a downside, right?
Were they to crash the economy, requiring an IMF rescue, we might be forced to retrench like Greece...
Back in planet reality, they are are just our creditors.
We borrow and we owe.
Increasingly thanks to the destruction of the Final Salary Pension system they are foreign.
But it doesn't matter how you dress it up and squeal and rage and shout and shout until you are sick that it is not fair, the country borrowed the money and the country owes the money.
Polanski thinks its time we ended that record.
Consistently run a budget surplus and there's little the bond markets can or will do.
Granted, that may not have been quite how it was expressed in the various manifestos, but it was what it meant all the same. The last chancellor to attempt to reduce the power of bond market was George Osborne, and he only got halfway to undoing Gordon Brown's profligacy before events removed him from office.
It would be quite easy, at least in principle, not to be in hock to the bond market. Cut government spending by £200bn/year, and we'd start paying down debt rather than increasing it, and as a bonus the interest rate on our remaining pile of debt would decrease substantially, thus creating a virtuous cycle where our debt servicing costs would fall, allowing us to repay debt faster, which would further reduce our debt servicing costs.
Somehow however, I doubt it is this particular solution Zac is proposing.
Still make him favourite but it isn't a done deal by any standards.
It will be close as we speak.
It's entirely possible Restore will do very well and come a comfortable third. But it's also possible that everyone else will be buttons.
Any ideas how to do that and be re elected?
1) We currently are sat on a mountain of debt equal to around 100% of gdp. If we started running a modest surplus tomorrow, say £50bn/pa, it will be literally several lifetimes before we reduce the debt mountain enough to seriously trouble the supply of assets to our pension funds.
2) Gilts were often a key component of final salary pension schemes. They aren't usually nearly as big a component of contribution based pensions, so pension funds now hold far fewer gilts than 30 years ago. Instead a lot more gilts are held by hedge funds, often heavily leveraged, which tends to make the bond markets substantially more volatile than they used to be.
3) If we somehow paid down the entire national debt, and pension funds really need government bonds to hold, there will always be plenty of debt available from other countries, at various prices for various levels of risk, including some very low risk bonds similar to ours.
Go in, day 1, do it. Take an axe to spending left right and centre. In particular, axe some whole programs, rather than trying to trim everything.
Welfare, pensions etc goes in the blender, comes out cheaper and less wide ranging.
Bin most of the MOD, sack all the procurement staff, buy standard kit wherever possible. It's apparent we've no meaningful capability left anyway, so why are we wasting all the cash?
Same time, bonfire of regulation, and get the entire tax code down to 4 sides of A4 at 11 point text. Simple, straightforward taxation. Tax consumption rather than employment as far as possible.
Explain that it's going to be painful, that the payoff won't be instant, but it will all be worth it.
Grit your teeth and get on with it for 4 years, hopefully without too many riots. With any luck, by then your deregulation and tax simplification will start to get the economy motoring, and your fiscal position is improving substantially. Use some of your accumulated savings to pay for tax cuts as you approach the GE.
Also - be straight and level with people about what you're doing and why. Avoid scandals, drop any misbehaving MPs instantly. Ensure no one has a just cause against you, other than a dislike of your actual policies.
Do all that, and you'll be hitting Starmer levels of popularity in years 2-3, but should bounce back magnificently as the payoff starts to occur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1qyZWu2YFs
Piers Morgan
@piersmorgan
‘I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it, in defeat I need it.’ - Sir Winston Churchill.
I definitely needed it after that penalty shoot-out. But as we flew home tonight, I remembered we’re Champions of England.
I love you all
@Arsenal
❤️
https://x.com/piersmorgan/status/2060857461028884973
https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/france/
https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/france/
On a walk from London Bridge to Greenwich, you pass the place in Rotherhithe where the Mayflower took on passengers. So there were a few East End geezers amongst the first Americans,
https://www.mayflowerpub.co.uk/history
The word has connertations of the Golden Industrai era, a Golden technology age, hands dirty in oil.
But NO
"Kemi is a software engineer and systems analyst "
That is plain English (at the very low level of work experience she had is)...
"I'm sorry your Computer is not working please turn it off at the plg, count to 30 and see if it works, if it doesn't ring the IT Call Centre back and me or one of my 200 colleagues sat in this old warehouse will tell you to do the same again"
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ce7hLfsV9AA
Wealth and property tax otoh would have little effect on consumption whilst providing an opportunity to cut the deficit and eventually reduce debt.
Level the playing field on income tax / NI so that earned income is not taxed at higher rates than investment/pension income.
Gemini summarises her pre-politics work experience thus:
Private Sector & Professional Experience (2003–2016)
Badenoch holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Sussex and a part-time Law degree from Birkbeck, University of London.
Software Engineer at Logica: Worked in the information technology sector from 2003 to 2006 for the tech firm Logica (which later became part of CGI Inc).
Systems Analyst at RBS: Moved into financial tech, working on systems analysis and technology change programmes for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Associate Director at Coutts: Spent several years (2006–2013) at the private wealth manager and bank Coutts & Co., transitioning from tech infrastructure roles into financial compliance following the 2008 financial crisis.
Digital Director at The Spectator: Headed up the non-editorial digital department for The Spectator magazine from 2015 to 2016.
Impossible to tell the depth or quality of those roles from that but it's clearly more than 'very low level of work experience'.
As is the misogyny.
I'm not sure that ends well.
Pfizer just signed a $10.5 billion licensing deal to develop a set of early-stage oncology treatments from China’s Innovent.
Last year, foreign pharma companies signed over $137 billion in licensing deals with Chinese biotech firms, a boom that seems set to continue.
https://x.com/kyleichan/status/2060817971539263958
“Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, recently advised Mr. Vance to take a break from social media, as have other officials in the West Wing, according to people familiar with those interactions, because the fighting was beneath his office”
https://x.com/JoshKraushaar/status/2060690078167441670
There is a fundamental flaw with the argument: “U.S. is 70% of global profits in tx and therefore can dictate which therapies are allowed in the U.S., including excluding China assets".
The weight bearing assumption is that China’s biotech industry will not be able to sustain itself without US market.
This does not conform with reality.
Prior to 2022, Chinese biotech industry had minimal capital inflows from outlicensing / newco’s to US / Western pharma AND a very austere tx pricing environment domestically. Yet significant companies grew to dominate the domestic market, and many Chinese biotechs managed to move up the innovation curve.
Do you think that Chinese biotechs sprang up overnight in Dec 2022 when this out licensing wave started? Akeso, Keymed, Hengrui, Hansoh, Innovent, and so many others have been around for years - pretty much all of them starting off by making drugs for the domestic China market. US out licensing deals were few and far in between, and yet many of them became $ B+ or $10’s Bn companies in the process.
Furthermore, in recent months the Chinese payor market is now getting better at rewarding true innovation. 2025 NRDL reform introduced a higher pricing tier for true innovation (not me-betters). Domestic economics for first-in-class assets are getting meaningfully stronger, regardless of the exit to Western pharma path.
From a unit economics perspective, "removing the exit to the West will kill Chinese biotech progress" argument just isn’t supported by facts on the ground.
Another serious drawback to the banning argument is that presumes Chinese drugs are only me betters or me toos that are knock offs of western efforts (and will continue to be).
This, too, does not conform with reality.
Chinese biotechs are now making net new innovative drugs across ADCs, in vivo CARs, genetic medicines and many more modalities, going after novel targets, payloads, and incorporating delivery tech that we have not seen here in the west; and if they work clinically - US patients will want access to as they will improve the clinical treatment paradigm.
I have spoken to the Chinese biotech CEOs and seen these programs. Some will work and some won’t (that’s just drug discovery), but they are coming, and there is no use in arguing about it.
Do you think it will be acceptable that US patients will not have access to best in class / first in class drugs?
so to summarize: in the US, we have an industry that is *losing* pricing power (no matter if R or Ds are in power, tx pricing pressure is on the docket), trying to keep drugs being made from a country with *increasing* pricing power (based on government support) out, at a time when those drugs are increasingly innovative.
Who do you think the actual loser from this is going to be?
https://x.com/davidycli/status/2060931351251910988