- NewsMatilda Long
Theresa May could be forced out 'as soon as next week' as Brexit splits cleave through party
Conservative MPs are calling for Theresa May to resign ‘within weeks’, as splits within the Tory party over Brexit deepen and confidence in her leadership tumbles among party members. The Prime Minister is facing a possible back-bench revolt over her Government’s flagship Brexit legislation next week, as the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the Commons in a high-stakes moment for the process.
- NewsEllen Manning
Confidence in Brexit negotiations concluded successfully has hit rock bottom, poll suggests
A poll by ICM Unlimited suggested that confidence in Brexit negotiations concluded successfully has hit rock bottom.
- NewsAndy Wells
Voters still seem to be confused about the Labour and Conservative positions on Brexit
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn have both attempted to make their position clearer.
- NewsMatilda Long
Shock polls reveals lead for chaotic Tories over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour
A shock poll has put the Conservatives four points ahead of Labour.
- NewsDavid Harding
Tories and Labour level in latest poll - but most people think Theresa May would make the best PM
The Tories and Labour are neck and neck in the latest opinion poll - 42% each - in the latest YouGov poll
- NewsMatilda Long
Who are the Tory leadership candidates tipped to take over from Theresa May?
Who will be the next Conservative Party leader? With Brexit divisions cleaving the Tories, rumours of a mutiny against Theresa May are refusing to die down. On one side, the hard-line Brexiteers are unhappy with the ‘soft’ deal beginning to emerge from the EU withdrawal negotiations.
- NewsAnthony Pearce
Westminster sexual harassment scandal: List of 36 'sex pest' Conservative MPs leaked
A spreadsheet, compiled by Westminster researchers, names Tory MPs — including cabinet ministers.
- NewsMatilda Long
Theresa May's Conservative Party Conference speech interrupted by P45 stunt
It was meant to be the moment Theresa May re-established her authority as Prime Minister. Instead, the keynote speech at the Tory party conference that aimed to put to bed talk of Cabinet splits and leadership challenges was hijacked by a protester handing her a P45 – and the PM’s own voice. The speech descended into chaos when Simon Brodkin – who goes by the alter ego Lee Nelson – handed May a note, telling her Boris Johnson had asked him to perform the stunt.
- NewsMatilda Long
The three charts that show why the Tories are failing to appeal to young people
At this year’s Conservative Party Conference Theresa May has announced a string of policies aimed to tempt the youth vote away from Jeremy Corbyn, including a freeze on student fees and additional help for first-time buyers. Chancellor Philip Hammond opened the conference with a speech promising that Tory policies would make young people better off than their parents.
- NewsDavid Harding
BBC's Laura Kuenssberg to get bodyguard at Tory party conference
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg to have bodyguard protection at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this week.
- NewsDavid Harding
Theresa May announces student fees 'U-turn'
Theresa May says Conservative Party will freeze tuition fees she tells the BBC.
- NewsMatilda Long
Labour voters know less about politics than Conservatives
People who vote Labour know less about politics on average than their Conservative counterparts, a poll has found. The survey tested participants’ political knowledge by asking them whether eight statements about politics were true or false. Statements included ‘the unemployment rate in the UK is currently less than 5%’; ‘the chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for setting interest rates in the UK’ and ‘the minimum voting age for UK general elections is now 16 years of age’.
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
It's not just young Tories who hate the working class
At first glance, the leaked Whatsapp messages from a group of young Tories joking about “gassing chavs” and experimenting “to see why they are so good at producing”, look like satire. This was at a time when Little Britain’s Vicky Pollard and Catherine Tate’s Lauren Cooper were on our screens - characters that, in 2006, a survey found that 70% of TV industry professionals believed were an accurate reflection of white working class young people. When I was older, my mum told me to read Owen Jones’ Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class.
- NewsDavid Harding
UK could stay in single market PERMANENTLY, says Labour deputy Tom Watson
Britain could remain in the EU single market permanently Labour’s deputy leader has claimed. Tom Watson’s comments came even though party leader Jeremy Corbyn says Britain must leave it following the Brexit vote last year. Watson was speaking to BBC Newsnight.
- NewsAndy Wells
Tory MPs think Boris Johnson will be their next leader
Theresa May has insisted she will lead the Tories into the next election but Conservative MPs believe Boris Johnson will be the man to eventually take over. The under-fire Foreign Secretary is the man that one third of Tories believe will take over the role as party leader, according to polling company Populus. One fifth think that Brexit Secretary David Davis will lead the party next – whether it is is display as leader or as Prime mInister if Mrs May does quit before another election.
- NewsAndy Wells
'Deluded' Theresa May responds to backlash over claims she'll fight next election
Theresa May has dismissed criticism of her ‘deluded’ vow to fight the next general election, insisting she ‘isn’t a quitter’. Senior Tories have cast doubt on the PM’s vow to take Britain through Brexit in 2019 and into the next election as leader of the Conservative Party. Former ministers Nicky Morgan and Grant Shapp have said it would be difficult for her to continue following the disastrous election this year which saw her lose the Tory majority.
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
The fight for Chingford: Is Labour on track to unseat IDS?
During his time running mayoral campaigns for Boris Johnson, Lynton Crosby famously created the “doughnut” strategy. This focused campaigning efforts on the outer boroughs of London where the Tory vote was then strongest. Of the 23 London constituencies that share a border, Labour hold just seven compared to the Tories’ 13.
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
Getting the Conservatives behind cannabis
The MS Society’s statement on cannabis last week flew under the news radar, but it’s an important development in the drug debate. For the first time, the organisation said the drug should be “legalised for medicinal use for people with MS to relieve their pain and muscle spasms when other treatments haven’t worked”. This would include about 10,000 people in the UK.
- NewsNick Reilly
Theresa May just quietly abandoned another manifesto pledge
The Conservatives have abandoned one of their key election pledges, after axing plans to provide free school breakfasts for all primary school pupils in England. In the manifesto, the Prime Minister had pledged to replace free school meals for state pupils with a free breakfast provided for ‘every child in every year of primary school’.
- NewsAndy Wells
Theresa May 'shed a little tear' after hearing General Election exit poll result
Theresa May has revealed that she shed a “little tear” when she saw the shock exit poll on election night predicting she was about to lose her majority. The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett how her husband Philip broke the news and gave her a hug to console her. PM Theresa May tells #5liveDaily‘s @Emmabarnett she shed “a little tear” after hearing exit poll result.
- NewsAndy Wells
The real reason Theresa May didn’t sign DUP deal?
The Conservatives signed a historic deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Monday – but Theresa May’s signature was notably absent from it. Despite securing her in power for the foreseeable future, the Prime Minister merely watched in the background while the Government chief whip Gavin Williamson signed the document along with his DUP counterpart, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Amid confusion as to why it wasn’t Mrs May who signed the confidence and supply agreement – which was needed after the Tories failed to secure a majority in June’s snap election – there is thought to be a very good reason why the Prime Minister’s signature is missing.
- NewsAndy Wells
Theresa May rejects Jeremy Corbyn's call to seize empty homes for Grenfell victims
Theresa May has shot down Jeremy Corbyn’s call for empty homes to be seized so they can house victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The Labour leader doubled down on his idea for empty homes to be taken over by the Government so those left homeless by the tragedy had a place to stay. Mr Corbyn made the proposals last week and yesterday urged the Government to consider requisitioning or using compulsory purchase orders for flats that are deliberately kept vacant, in a process known as land-banking.
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
Five things we have learned from the election
The dust might not have completely settled on the election, but there are some early points we can take away from the results:
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
The polls may be all over the place, but expect a week of Brexit followed by a Tory win
Yes, the polls are going haywire. At the same time as YouGov and Survation put the race back to the 2015 result of a 5-7 point Tory win (disastrous for Theresa May, as Iwrote a few weeks ago), ICM, ComRes and Panelbase have the Tories cruising to the 100-or- so seat majority that would make this election a success for the prime minister. Now YouGov, based on a complex multi-level regression model using constituency-level polling data, predicts a hung parliament – despite the fact that their own poll of 50 marginal Labour-held seats taken in early May would have seen the Tories win every single one of them on a uniform swing.
- NewsPolitics.co.uk
Election 2017: A big Conservative win could see fewer women in parliament
The Labour landslide in 1997 was significant for a number of reasons, not least that it delivered a record number of women MPs to parliament. The election saw 120 women move in to the House of Commons - and of the 65 new Labour women joining parliament, 35 were elected via all-women shortlists. It proved what could happen when a party takes positive action to increase women’s representation in politics.
