UK News and Discussions

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Kemi Badenoch brings culture war rhetoric to Tory leadership race
Sat 9 Jul 2022 13.37 BST

Kemi Badenoch, the latest entrant to an increasingly crowded race to succeed Boris Johnson, has marked her brief time in parliament by the relative speed of her ascent and a willingness to embrace controversy and conflict over culture war issues.

Elected to the safe Essex seat of Saffron Walden in 2017, Badenoch took just two years to join the frontbenches and was, until her resignation this week, a joint minister for levelling up and equalities.

Last year Badenoch, a former junior education minister, was even briefly tipped to succeed Gavin Williamson as education secretary, although in the end she was reshuffled to another second-tier role.

Badenoch’s pitch to Tory MPs places her very much on the right of the party, where she risks seeking support from a similar ideological pool to Suella Braverman, the attorney general, who entered the race on Wednesday.

Announcing her decision to run with an article in the Times, Badenoch condemned what she termed “platitudes and empty rhetoric”, offering a somewhat vague pledge of smaller government and lower taxes, plus an iron-clad commitment to Brexit.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... is-johnson
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The UK’s unwritten constitution is put to the test by Johnson’s unprincipled acts
Sun 10 Jul 2022

In keeping with his entire tenure in No 10, Boris Johnson’s departure from the premiership is proving a test of the UK constitution’s heavy reliance on convention and principle. His final weeks or months in the job provide yet more questions about what the UK does with its constitution in the post-Johnson era.

Before the 2010 general election, the House of Commons justice committee met constitutional experts and the then cabinet secretary, all to discuss whether the UK needed to set out rules for any “caretaker government”. The worry then was if the general election produced a hung parliament it could take time before a government was formed, and the rules for any interim government should be set out in advance. Though there were some principles and precedents about what should and should not happen, it wasn’t explicitly set out anywhere.

The committee meeting led to the publication of convention as it was understood, eventually published in the cabinet manual that now guides constitutional practice. But UK officials and ministers back in 2010 were reluctant to call it a “caretaker” convention. Despite long experience with such conventions in Australia and New Zealand, they thought the term was pejorative. Instead they opted for “period of restrictions on government activity” – these included the run-up to a general election, the period after if no clear result had emerged and midterm if a government lost confidence. They believed setting out principles would be enough to avoid any chaos and that “hard and fast rules” would hinder, not help.

One scenario not envisaged in 2010 was one in which the prime minister had lost the confidence of ministerial and party colleagues in their personal ability to govern. But that is the situation now – and why those principles are likely to be tested. Restrictions on government activity after a prime minister has been forced into resigning by their party are a murky part of our constitution. Quite rightly, one could argue, since the government hasn’t lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons and parliament isn’t dissolved. The government still governs. But the consensus now exists that you still act with care and responsibility and exercise discretion over big decisions.

That many of Johnson’s own party are questioning whether he can navigate such a caretaker period shows how little trust there is in conventions and uncodified rules. The track record of the Johnson years – culminating in his holding on even when his chancellor and home secretary told him time was up – shows why there is cause for concern.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ipled-acts
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After the coup, the contest that will expose faultlines in a fractured Conservative party
Sun 10 Jul 2022 06.00 BST

Shortly after Boris Johnson struggled through prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, as the list of resignations from his government grew, a senior Tory MP sat down in a quiet corner of the House of Commons and agonised alone over what to do.

He had been loyal to Johnson until then but could see the way the wind was blowing. “I really don’t know,” he said, grimacing and shaking his head when asked where he stood on the great question of the moment. “I know we can’t go on like this. But I can’t think of anything worse right now than a leadership contest.”

Others preferred to consult colleagues. The corridors close to the Commons chamber were lined with small groups of Conservative MPs holding hushed conversations.

They were all agreed that, in many respects, this would be the worst of times to bring it all to a head – with a cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine both raging, to name but two of the issues facing the government.

But everyone was clear, it had gone too far. The coup against Johnson had a momentum that was unstoppable. What worried these Tory MPs most was not Johnson’s fate but what would follow. “I think the party will struggle to survive this,” said one former minister on Wednesday afternoon. “I think we will split.”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... tive-party
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Penny Mordaunt hits back at ‘woke’ tag as she joins Tory leadership race
Sun 10 Jul 2022 11.57 BST

Penny Mordaunt has formally launched her bid to be Conservative leader with an apparent rolling back of her previous view about trans rights, a sign of how important so-called culture war issues could be in the contest to replace Boris Johnson.

Before even releasing her initial campaign video announcing her candidacy, Mordaunt tweeted to insist that opponents were trying to falsely portray here as “woke”.

The Portsmouth North MP, who is a trade minister, has long been known as one of the outliers in the party , speaking publicly in support of trans rights.

In a former role as equalities minister, Mordaunt said that “trans men are men, and trans women are women”, a statement that sets out the current legal basis for gender recognition but has become an increasingly fraught area of debate over issues such as safe spaces for women.

This has led to Mordaunt being criticised by some Conservative factions. The former defence minister wrote on Twitter: “I am biologically a woman. If I have a hysterectomy or mastectomy, I am still a woman. And I am legally a woman.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... rship-race
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Typical of this crooked government, it appears the chancellor is under investigation. Zahawi has multiple questions to answer, particularly about his apparent tax avoidance. Hodge gives him an opportunity to provide some answers👇

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Eleven Conservatives now bidding to be next prime minister as MPs on 1922 Committee set to decide rules for leadership contest
Monday 11 July 2022 09:55, UK

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially joined the race for the Tory leadership, with Home Secretary Priti Patel potentially set to announce her candidacy.

A surprise entry has also been made by Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, Ms Truss pledged to "start cutting taxes from day one" with a commitment to reverse April's National Insurance rise.

Releasing a video laying out her pitch to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister on Monday morning, the foreign secretary emphasised her desire for low taxes, a "firm grip on spending", and driving growth in the economy.

Using the tagline "Trusted to Deliver", Ms Truss said she wants to give people "the opportunity to achieve anything they to achieve" regardless of their background.
https://news.sky.com/story/eleven-conse ... t-12649715
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Looks like Penny Mordaunt will be our next PM.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... 7b5b5ce976
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wjfox wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 1:52 pm Looks like Penny Mordaunt will be our next PM.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... 7b5b5ce976
Hmm, how left-wing is Mordaunt?
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Time_Traveller wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 2:06 pm
Hmm, how left-wing is Mordaunt?
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24938 ... orth/votes
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