All posts tagged: Conservatives

Politics Home | The Conservatives Should Scrap The Triple Lock And Build Houses, Says Senior Tory

Politics Home | The Conservatives Should Scrap The Triple Lock And Build Houses, Says Senior Tory

Published by Sam Flores

David Lidington arrives at 10 Downing Street, 2018 (Alamy) 3 min read60 min A former Conservative cabinet minister has called on his party to back housebuilding and abandon the state pension triple lock, in a bid to “look beyond” elderly voters and “really make inroads” with younger generations. David Lidington, who served as Theresa May’s de facto deputy prime minister during his almost three decades as a Tory MP, argued that a future Conservative victory will require the party to step out of its electoral comfort zone. Speaking on this week’s episode of PoliticsHome podcast The Rundown, which will be published on Friday (14 August), Lidington said the current generation of Conservative MPs should look at how electorally successful leaders like Margaret Thatcher “departed massively from a lot of political assumptions that had dominated politics”. Lidington, now a member of centre-right campaign group Prosper UK, said his party’s “big challenge” as it looks to rebuild under leader Kemi Badenoch is “to look beyond our own core support, which is the over-65s at the moment, and really make inroads into …

Conservatives find their fighter in Sophie Cunningham

Conservatives find their fighter in Sophie Cunningham

Published by Sam Flores

Indiana is in many ways a liminal state, the place you pass through between scruffy Cleveland and business-like Chicago, with little to inspire romantic odes to home. Its glacial flatness doesn’t lend itself to crusades, or to impressive scenes like a man on horseback silhouetted against the sunset. But Sophie Cunningham has let the state turn her into a combination of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, willing to joust with a windmill.  The reserve for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever comes off the bench for the latter-day contenders, spelling for star Caitlin Clark and averaging a respectable eight points per game. When then-Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye during a particularly physical play in 2025, Cunningham avenged the perceived slight with a headlock during a later play. Her reputation as Clark’s right-hand and enforcer spread along with the viral clip.   Since Clark’s days as a national college basketball player for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the right-wing grievance machine has tried to make Clark their Great White Hope. This seemed to accelerate in 2024 …

German Conservatives to Appoint Merz Confidant to Lead Faction After Surrogacy Row

German Conservatives to Appoint Merz Confidant to Lead Faction After Surrogacy Row

Published by Sam Flores

BERLIN, July 22 (Reuters) – Germany’s ruling conservatives ⁠said ⁠on Wednesday they would appoint a ⁠close ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz as their new parliamentary faction ​chief, following the abrupt exit of party heavyweight Jens Spahn in a row over a surrogacy baby.  Thorsten ‌Frei, the head of Merz’s chancellery, ‌will replace Spahn, the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social ⁠Union said ⁠in a statement, confirming an earlier report by the Bild newspaper. The ​parliamentary group will vote on the matter at a special meeting on July 29. “I ask the parliamentary group to approve Thorsten Frei, who has played a key role in the government’s success to date and ​in the stability of the coalition. The reform successes of recent weeks are also to ⁠his ⁠credit,” Merz was quoted as ⁠saying. Spahn resigned ​on Saturday after having a baby born to a surrogate mother in the United States, a ​move at odds with ⁠his own party’s opposition to surrogacy. Spahn had at one time been seen as a potential …

The real reason conservatives hate Nolan’s “Odyssey”

The real reason conservatives hate Nolan’s “Odyssey”

Published by Sam Flores

The most-quoted line from Al Franken’s 2003 bestseller “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them” attempts to draw a distinction between conservative and liberal forms of patriotism.  “Conservatives love America like a four-year-old loves his mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups,” wrote Franken, a comedian who would, only five years later, would be elected U.S. senator from Minnesota as a Democrat. “To a four-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad and helping your loved one grow.”  Conservatives won’t tolerate any information that complicates their desire for flag-waving. The United States is a one-of-a-kind nation, and its history one of uninterrupted excellence. There’s no room for nuance and no time for reflection. Twenty-three years on, the right still has that infantile view of America. Under the thumb of Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda, it has grown even more petulant. Conservatives won’t tolerate any information that complicates their desire for flag-waving. The United States is …

Sadiq Khan ‘on course’ to win fourth term as Mayor of London despite Greens surge

Sadiq Khan ‘on course’ to win fourth term as Mayor of London despite Greens surge

Published by Sam Flores

Sir Sadiq Khan would win a fourth term as Mayor of London despite a surge in support for the Greens, according to a new poll. The Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), showed Labour significantly ahead of all other parties in the mayoral race. Sir Sadiq’s party is on 33%, with the Conservatives 18%, Reform UK 18%, Green Party 17%, Liberal Democrats nine per cent, and other candidates six per cent. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and his wife Saadiya Ahmad in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on Sunday (PA) “This would amount to a Labour win after second preferences are counted,” said Dr Eoghan Kelly, a postdoctoral researcher in British politics at QMUL. The Labour candidate would get 40% of the vote in Inner London, more than double any other contender, and 29% in Outer London, also ahead of Nigel Farage’s Reform and the Tories, both on 19%. Dr Kelly added: “Much will depend on who the mayoral candidates are. “Of the major parties, only Reform …

Politics Home | Scottish Conservatives Defeat SNP In Aberdeen South With Historic By-Election Win

Politics Home | Scottish Conservatives Defeat SNP In Aberdeen South With Historic By-Election Win

Published by Sam Flores

2 min read4 min The Scottish Conservatives won a by-election for the first time in almost 60 years as they defeated the Scottish National Party (SNP). The seat, which was vacated by former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn when he became an MSP, was won by Douglas Lumsden – the first time the Tories have won a by-election in Scotland since 1967. Lumsden, himself an MSP, must now stand down at Holyrood after a recent rule change to prevent so-called ‘double jobbing’. He defeated SNP candidate Richard Thomson, a former MP for Gordon, by more than 6,000 votes, with the Tories taking more than half of all ballots cast on a turnout of just 38 per cent. The Conservatives had sought to make the by-election about the north east’s oil and gas industry, with UK leader Kemi Badenoch making a number of visits to the Granite City during the campaign. “This result sends a clear message to Labour and the SNP: their war on North Sea oil and gas must end,” Lumsden tweeted. …

UK Conservatives Blast Labour North Sea Ban As ‘Utter Madness’

UK Conservatives Blast Labour North Sea Ban As ‘Utter Madness’

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com, The current UK government’s policy of not allowing new drilling in the UK North Sea is “utter madness” as billions of barrels of untapped oil could benefit the UK industry and reduce Britain’s reliance on imports, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, has said. The ruling Labour government of Sir Keir Starmer has recently moved to permanently ban new oil and gas licenses in the UK section of the North Sea, drawing criticism from the UK offshore industry associations and from the Tories. The Conservatives’ Badenoch commented this week on a new study by the University of Aberdeen, whose researchers said on Wednesday that it would be “economically, environmentally, and strategically beneficial for the UK to prioritise domestic oil and gas production rather than increasing reliance on imports.” The University of Aberdeen’s peer-reviewed study found that significant untapped potential remains in the West of Shetland basin, which is estimated to contain about 4.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) yet to be discovered. The study highlights that the remaining potential …

Tory Humiliated By Makerfield Poll Placing Conservatives Last

Tory Humiliated By Makerfield Poll Placing Conservatives Last

Published by Sam Flores

A senior Conservative was left red-faced on Sunday when presented with the results of an opinion poll of the Makerfield voters. Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips showed shadow home secretary Chris Philp the findings from a Survation survey of 369 people set to vote in the crunch by-election. The graph showed put the Conservatives in last place on 2% in the constituency. The Green Party were just in front on 3%, the Liberal Democrats on 4%, Restore Britain on 7%, Reform UK on 40% and Labour in the lead on 43%. Phillips said: “Before 2024, you used to come second between 20 and 30% of the vote. “Now there are three parties that could describe themselves as being of the right, or centre right, and you – you’re the official opposition – you’re the least popular of the three! “Reform, Restore, Conservatives.” Pointing to the graph, he said: “Look, there are the Tories, down there at the bottom. What the heck happened?” Sky News’ graph of the Survation opinion poll The Tory MP replied: “By-elections …