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Oct 18, 2024

Politics latest: Martin Lewis welcomes Treasury announcement; Tory MP sparks outrage with Badenoch remarks | Politics News | Sky News

The Treasury may be working on what many fear could be a tough budget, but one announcement has been hailed by consumer champion Martin Lewis. Elsewhere, MPs are rounding on a veteran Tory over

The Treasury may be working on what many fear could be a tough budget, but one announcement has been hailed by consumer champion Martin Lewis. Elsewhere, MPs are rounding on a veteran Tory over comments he made about one of his party's leadership candidates, Kemi Badenoch.

Thursday 17 October 2024 20:09, UK

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Is Robert Jenrick wise to fight a single issue campaign, on immigration and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights?

In his five-minute opening speech to Conservative voters at a GB News leadership event, he says immigration is the issue and talks of little else.

Then he describes the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) as a "foreign court", a slogan we hear from hardline Brexiteers, even though it's an international court.

And let's not forget Winston Churchill was one of the great supporters of the creation of the ECHR after the war.

A one-trick pony?

But Mr Jenrick knows his electorate in this leadership election is not those voters who deserted the Tories for the Lib Dems or Labour.

He's preaching to the Conservatives' core vote. And he returns to the ECHR and praises Brexit during the questions from the audience.

In the quick-fire round, apart from saying Sir Christopher Chope was wrong to say Kemi Badenoch can't be a mother and a party leader, the main takeaways are that he's against the nanny state, has never taken illegal drugs, and is against slavery reparations.

Then he claims Nigel Farage is "rattled" by him because of his policies on immigration and the EHCR. And when interviewer Christopher Hope groans, he says: "You can never repeat good things enough!"

Critics have called Mr Jenrick a "one-trick immigration pony".

But he's not making up policy on the hoof, and is obviously betting on riding to victory on immigration.

Conservative MP Christopher Chope - a Robert Jenrick supporter - has sparked outrage by saying Kemi Badenoch wouldn't be an effective leader because she's "preoccupied with her own children".

"As much as I like Kemi, I think she's preoccupied with her own children," said the veteran Tory.

"Robert's children are a bit older and I think it's important whoever leads the opposition has an immense amount of time and energy.

"I understand from talking to colleagues that Kemi spends a lot of time with her family. I don't resent that at all.

"But the consequence is you can't spend all your time with your family at the same time as being leader of the opposition."

There's something that needs to be pointed out

Now, as a working parent, there's a lot I could say about this.

And it matters in politics even more than other professions because these are the guys deciding how the country is run and who it works for.

It's vital to have people with different experience around the table - and yes, I hate to say it Christopher Chope, but that also includes mothers.

There's an awful lot I could say here, but there's one thing I do want to point out: this is clearly a hot topic of conversation among Tory MPs.

He doesn't know it from Kemi herself, he knows it "from talking to colleagues".

So people are talking about whether Kemi Badenoch is spending too much time with her family, but it's only Christopher Chope who is saying the quiet part out loud.

Just let that sink in when people are trying to brush this off as just one comment by just one MP.

We've been reporting this week on backlash in the cabinet over the spending cuts facing their departments in the budget.

Some have even gone over the head of the chancellor to take their concerns straight to the prime minister.

Rupert Harrison, former adviser to ex-chancellor George Osborne, says there's nothing particularly unusual about this.

Ministers rarely feel like they've got enough money to do everything they're keen to do, and the Treasury ultimately controls how much cash each department gets depending on the government's priorities.

But Rachel Reeves may be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat, he says.

He says: "The great advantage Rachel Reeves has is the Treasury will always have a back pocket, right?

"So the officials will have known for months there'll be a new Labour government, they're going to need money, they've ruled out all these big tax rises, we'd better give them some other options."

George Osborne's former economics advisor Rupert Harrison has said Rachel Reeves has "created a conundrum for herself" ahead of the budget later this month.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge, he said previous prime ministers and chancellors had been careful not to close off potential avenues to boost spending power during election campaigns in the same way this Labour administration had done by ruling out tax rises.

While they were "put under pressure" by the Tories to have a firm line on income tax, national insurance and VAT, completely ruling out increasing them had "created a difficult situation".

Their "optimistic assumptions" about how much they could raise through other avenues - like capital gains tax - had likely been "knocked down very significantly" since they entered office.

Sophy Ridge also asked education minister Stephen Morgan about new figures highlighting the huge rise in the number of children missing at least half their time at school.

A total of 157,038 children were severely absent from schools in England in the spring term (January to March) this year - an increase of 12.4% compared with the same term in 2023.

The latest number is 160% higher than before the pandemic, when the government closed all schools in March 2020.

Mr Morgan said it's "really important" for children to be in schools, but pushed back on Sophy's suggestion the government should be cracking down against parents who don't send them in.

He said a "support first approach" is needed, encompassing parents and councils, "to understand the barriers for why a child isn't attending school and support them getting back into school".

A £15m funding pot to allow primary schools to deliver hundreds of nursery places has been launched.

It forms the first stage of the government's plan to open an additional 3,000 nurseries in England through "upgrading space" in primary schools.

Sophy Ridge has been discussing this with Labour's Stephen Morgan, an early years education minister.

He said the sector has endured "challenges around funding" which have seen some dedicated nurseries forced to close.

Schools can apply for up to £150,000 to help deliver the 300 new or expanded nurseries, and Mr Morgan said the government will also take action against instances of parents facing extortionate extra charges to access government-funded childcare.

Parents whose children are between nine months and two years old have had access to 15 hours of free childcare since August, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week to all eligible families next September.

The usual Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge format is absent from your screens this evening because of events in the Middle East.

You can watch live updates and analysis in the stream above, after Israel confirmed the killing of the leader of Hamas.

But we will still bring you the best of Sophy's interviews with education minister Stephen Morgan and George Osborne's ex-economic advisor Rupert Harrison here in the Politics Hub.

And our chief political correspondent Jon Craig will be giving his take on the first TV event between Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick in the Tory leadership race.

Stay with us!

It's not a debate. It's billed as a leadership event. But Kemi Badenoch vs Robert Jenrick this evening is the nearest thing to a TV showdown between the two contenders for the Tory crown.

The candidates will toss a coin to determine who goes first, before they each make a five-minute speech and then answer questions from Conservative Party members for 40 minutes.

Hosted by GB News in central London, it may be the only TV event of the leadership campaign, now that a proposed BBC clash is in doubt after the Tory party tried to charge audience members for tickets.

What might be on the agenda?

Ms Badenoch is certain to be asked about criticism of her by Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope, who said: "You can't spend all your time with your family at the same time as being leader of the opposition."

And Mr Jenrick may be asked about his inability to name the new England football manager, Thomas Tuchel. "I have to confess I haven’t even seen this news while I’ve been here this morning," he said feebly.

Since they emerged as the top two in the final ballot of Conservative MPs last week, Mr Jenrick has taken part in round-the-clock interviews and public events, while Ms Badenoch has shunned high-profile appearances.

That's no doubt because she's the favourite with bookmakers and pollsters and has more to lose.

But in a swipe at her rival, she declared: "I am running a grassroots campaign, not a TV campaign or a media campaign."

A government minister has accused a veteran Tory MP of making a "sexist" remark about one of the party's leadership candidates.

Sir Christopher Chope suggested Kemi Badenoch is the wrong choice for Conservative leader because she'd be "preoccupied" with being a mum.

Sir Christopher's preferred candidate, Robert Jenrick, who also has three young children, distanced himself from the remarks.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge, minister Stephen Morgan said the comment was "completely and utterly unacceptable".

"Frankly, it's a sexist remark," he added.

Watch the full interview on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge from 7pm.

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard share their daily guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves may have put the finishing touches on Labour's first budget, but some cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, are said to be concerned about how harsh the cuts will be. With the 30 October budget basically ready, could there be a revolt when the details are published?

Plus, the two Tory leadership hopefuls Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch face each other in a head-to-head debate, but on what issues will they align, and where are they different?

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