Uncompetitive Conservative Party is bad for the UK, says Sir Tony Blair

Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, is pictured during an interview on LBC
Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, is pictured during an interview on LBC - James Manning/PA

Sir Tony Blair said an uncompetitive Conservative Party is a “bad thing” for the UK.

The Labour former prime minister cautioned the Tories against going into their “own little corner of politics” and only talking amongst themselves as they decide who will replace Rishi Sunak as leader.

Asked about the state of the Conservative Party, Sir Tony told LBC: “The Tories have got to decide whether they’re going to make themselves competitive or not.

“Now, I happen to think that having a competitive opposition is an important part of a democracy…”

He added: “But the fact is, if the Conservative Party goes into its own little corner of politics and talks to itself, it’s going to be a bad thing for the country, never mind for the Conservative Party.”

You can follow the latest updates below and join the conversation in the comments section


03:55 PM BST

That is all for today...

Thank you for joining me for today's politics live blog.

I will be back on Monday morning.


03:38 PM BST

Pensioners will die because of winter fuel payments cut, warns Labour rebel

Pensioners will die from the cold if the Treasury pushes ahead with its winter fuel payments cut, a Labour rebel has warned.

Writing for The Telegraph, Rachael Maskell said being more exposed to low temperatures could increase risk of stroke, heart attacks, pneumonia and hypothermia.

She issued the warning amid growing unrest among some Labour MPs over Rachel Reeves’ decision to stop giving winter fuel payments to all pensioners in order to help fill a “black hole” in the public finances.

You can read the full story here


03:26 PM BST

Priti Patel: Starmer giving people smugglers a ‘free pass’ by scrapping Rwanda plan

Dame Priti Patel claimed Sir Keir Starmer had given people smuggling gangs a “free pass” by scrapping the Tories’ Rwanda migrant deportation plan.

The former home secretary said the fact that Germany was now considering making use of asylum facilities in Rwanda which were paid for by the UK demonstrated how “incompetent and weak” the Labour Government is.

She tweeted this afternoon:


03:09 PM BST

Welsh parliament committees ‘cannot function if one MP goes to the lavatory’

There are so few Welsh members of the Senedd that committee meetings become void if one member leaves for the lavatory.

Eluned Morgan, the First Minister, made the claim as she defended plans to increase the number of Senedd members from 60 to 96, saying they would bring “better scrutiny”.

You can read the full story here


03:03 PM BST

Pictured: Yvette Cooper speaks to the media during visit to National Crime Agency

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, speaks to the media during a visit to the National Crime Agency headquarters in London
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, speaks to the media during a visit to the National Crime Agency headquarters in London - Benjamin Cremel/AFP

02:46 PM BST

Starmer’s ‘nanny state’ may tax sugar and salt

Sugar and salt taxes are under consideration by the Government in the latest “nanny state” measure.

The intervention is being discussed at the Treasury, with officials recently meeting campaigners who are pushing for new levies.

Health charities are urging the Government to bring in “sin taxes” on convenience foods and chocolate, cakes and crisps to try and persuade people to eat more healthily.

They are also calling for extra taxes to cap the profits of tobacco manufacturers.

You can read the full story here


02:30 PM BST

Green Party co-leader challenges Labour to introduce wealth tax

Adrian Ramsay, the co-leader of the Green Party, called on the Government to introduce a wealth tax to increase funding for the NHS.

He told the party’s annual conference in Manchester this afternoon that Labour was “not prepared to do what is required” to fix the health service.

He said: “Investing in our health service at the level needed to make it healthy again and join it up with a reasonable fair offer on social care is possible.

Adrian Ramsay, the co-leader of the Green Party
Adrian Ramsay, the co-leader of the Green Party - Christopher Furlong /Getty Images Europe

“We have listened to the experts and the numbers stack up. Greens know there are positive alternatives. Real change paid for through a fair tax system.”

Mr Ramsay said that he expected Rachel Reeves on Budget day on Oct 30 to claim there is “no money” and he would tell the Chancellor that she was “not looking in the right place”.

He said: “I proudly championed a wealth tax during the election campaign and I will do the same on Budget day and I will do the same very single day I hear this Government claim that we can’t afford to pay for the necessary climate action or to make sure everyone has a safe, affordable, warm home or to fund our much-loved NHS.”


02:23 PM BST

Labour ‘getting it wrong’ on fuel payments and two child benefit cap, says Green co-leader

The Green Party’s co-leader said Labour is “getting it wrong” in too many areas.

Adrian Ramsay, one of the party’s four MPs, kicked off the Greens’ annual conference in Manchester by saying he would work collaboratively with Labour where he could.

But he said: “In so many areas, ones that matter deeply to so many of us, Labour is getting it wrong.

“Like denying winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners. Giving the greenlight to new climate destroying airport expansion. And to sticking with the cruelty of the two child benefit cap.”


02:11 PM BST

SNP’s Westminster leader mocks Labour over GB Energy plans


01:36 PM BST

Home Secretary dodges question on RAF Scampton

Yvette Cooper declined to say where asylum seekers would be housed now the Government has abandoned plans to use the RAF Scampton site as accommodation.

Asked where they would live, the Home Secretary told broadcasters: “We have seen this really shameful increase in the asylum backlog under the Conservatives that we inherited.

“We also saw much lower returns, way lower returns, than under the last Labour government.

“So the action that we have immediately taken is to significantly increase the number of returns since the general election and we are also working now to close the backlog so that we can end these very costly asylum hotels, and also, in the case of Scampton, that was incredibly costly for this single site that was also strongly opposed in the local community as well.”

Approximately £60 million has been spent on converting part of The Dambusters' historic base into an asylum camp but, despite nearly two years of work, not a single migrant has been transferred there.


01:30 PM BST

Small boat crossings were lower in July and August than last year, says Cooper

Yvette Cooper said Channel crossings in July and August were lower than last year ahead of a summit with the Prime Minister and law enforcement officials on the small boats issue.

The Home Secretary told broadcasters: “We have this dangerous situation. The criminal gangs are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“In the first half of the year, the number of crossings that we inherited from the previous government were at a record high for spring crossings.

Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper visit the National Crime Agency headquarters in London
Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper visit the National Crime Agency headquarters in London - Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images Europe

“The numbers for July and August have been lower than in previous years, but we have also seen lives being lost and we still see these criminal gangs operating along the north French coast.

“Those gangs should not be able to get away with it and that’s why we are determined to go after them.”


01:28 PM BST

Pictured: PM visits National Crime Agency HQ amid crackdown on small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, speaks during a visit to the National Crime Agency headquarters in London
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, speaks during a visit to the National Crime Agency headquarters in London - Benjamin Cremel/AFP

01:07 PM BST

Uncompetitive Conservative Party is bad for the UK, says Sir Tony Blair

Sir Tony Blair said an uncompetitive Conservative Party is a “bad thing” for the UK as he cautioned the Tories against going into their “own little corner of politics” and only talking amongst themselves.

Sir Tony told LBC: “The Tories have got to decide whether they're going to make themselves competitive or not.

“Now, I happen to think that having a competitive opposition is an important part of a democracy, especially with the Conservative Party, because over a long period of time, I hope this changes, by the way, but you know, if you look at the 120 years of the Labour Party's existence, roughly 120 years, for most of that time we've been in opposition. Before my government, we'd never won two full terms as a political party before, the Labour Party.

“Not two full terms, never mind three. So you know, this is what I hope will change now with the new government.

“But the fact is, if the Conservative Party goes into its own little corner of politics and talks to itself, it's going to be a bad thing for the country, never mind for the Conservative Party.”


12:50 PM BST

Sunak holds talks to improve Tory business relations


12:22 PM BST

No 10: ‘No plans’ to send UK prisoners to Estonia

The Government has made “no plans or announcements” regarding sending prisoners to serve their sentences in Estonia, Downing Street has said.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “The Lord Chancellor has been clear that we have to bring in reforms to tackle the prison capacity crisis.

“That’s why, alongside our commitment to build more prisons, we will be publishing a 10-year strategy in the autumn to set out how we will ensure that we always have the places we need to keep dangerous offenders behind bars.

“On those reports specifically, I would point out that this was the policy of the former government and that this Government has made no such plans or announcements with regard to Estonia.”

She declined to comment on any private conversations between the Justice Secretary and her Estonian counterpart at a recent Council of Europe meeting they both attended.


12:18 PM BST

Telegraph readers weigh in on Labour’s small boats plans

The Government's focus today is on tackling illegal immigration as it holds a summit between senior ministers, figures from the National Crime Agency and the intelligence services on how best to destroy people smuggling gangs.

The Tories believe Labour's plans are doomed to fail because of the decision to scrap the Rwanda deportation deterrent.

Telegraph readers have been offering their verdict on Labour's plans in the comments section of today's politics live blog:


12:04 PM BST

Lord Blunkett’s guide dog ‘deeply resentful’ of attention paid to parliamentary rival

Lord Blunkett joked that his guide dog was “deeply resentful” about Parliament’s newest assistance pup receiving more publicity than him.

The Labour peer is accompanied in the House of Lords by Barley, a black retriever-German shepherd cross who is the former Cabinet minister’s seventh guide dog.

But attention in the Palace of Westminster in recent weeks has been focused on the newest guide dog on the estate, Jennie, who assists recently elected Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling (Torbay).

The four-year-old golden retriever has been dubbed the honorary 73rd Lib Dem MP on the Commons benches and has featured in several newspaper articles and television appearances.

Steve Darling, the Lib Dem MP, is pictured with his guide dog Jennie
Steve Darling, the Lib Dem MP, is pictured with his guide dog Jennie - Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

Speaking during a Lords debate on providing support for infants and parents, Lord Blunkett said it was a “no-brainer” to provide information from conception to age two to help set the foundations for a baby.

He said: “This is acknowledged and supported by parties of all persuasions. I notice that the new MP for Torbay put a question down very quickly on this issue.”

To laughter, Lord Blunkett then joked: “I also notice that his dog got a lot more publicity than mine, for which my dog is deeply resentful.”


11:39 AM BST

Blair warns UK against ‘blundering in’ on US presidential election

Sir Tony Blair has cautioned UK politicians against “blundering in” on US politics by giving their opinions on the forthcoming presidential election.

Sir Tony told LBC Radio: “You should never be America's closest ally if you think America is going in the wrong direction clearly.

“But, you know, I worked with the Trump administration, particularly on the Israel-UAE Abraham Accords and the peace process there. And, you know, look, in general terms, I think it's the job of the British prime minister to establish a very close relationship with the American president.”

Asked if that applied regardless of who was in the White House, Sir Tony said: “Yeah, because you don't get to choose that. And one thing I've learned over time is just don't get involved in American politics.

“It's complicated enough for Americans without someone from the outside blundering in.”

Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, appears on LBC Radio
Sir Tony Blair, the former prime minister, appears on LBC Radio - James Manning/PA

11:10 AM BST

Jenrick: Churchill would be ‘aghast’ at what ECHR has become

Winston Churchill would be “aghast” at what the European Convention on Human Rights has become, Robert Jenrick claimed.

The Tory leadership candidate has called for the UK to leave the ECHR, arguing it would make it easier to control the nation’s borders.

Asked why the UK should turn its back on something it helped to set up, Mr Jenrick told LBC Radio: “Well, we did [help to set it up] and I think the British jurists and Winston Churchill who created that in the aftermath of the Second World War would be aghast at what it has become today because we have foreign national offenders like murderers and rapists and paedophiles who we can’t remove from the country because of that human rights architecture.”

He added: “I don’t come at this from an ideological perspective, I come at it from a practical one and I want to replace it with a British Bill of Rights that would secure our human rights, protect minorities, protect freedom of speech, freedom of religion, all the things that we care about, the things that we really gave the world as a country.

“So our rights would be enhanced but they would be brought home and it would be the British Parliament and our British judges that were in the driving seat.”


10:43 AM BST

Ex-minister: Starmer made ‘clanger of mistake’ by axing winter fuel payments

A Tory former minister said Sir Keir Starmer had made a “clanger of a mistake” by scrapping winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners.

Vicky Ford, who lost her seat at the general election, said Labour’s economic messaging “doesn’t add up”.

She told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “If he is on one hand saying we don’t have any money and we need to care for those who are less well off then he has made a clanger of a mistake, I’m afraid, by giving a very large pay deal to especially train drivers… and taking that money away from pensioners.”

She added: “On one hand you are saying there is no money, we have got to cut the winter fuel allowance at a time when heating prices are going up and on the other hand you are saying but it is ok, I can pay the train drivers.

“It just doesn’t add up.”


10:29 AM BST

Stopping smuggling gangs like ‘Whac-A-Mole’, says ex-Border Force chief

The former head of the British Border Force said stopping smuggling gangs is “like Whac-A-Mole”.

Tony Smith, director-general of the UK Border Force until 2013, told the BBC: “This is a very lucrative business for the smugglers – putting a smuggling gang out of business, there’s usually another one waiting in the wings because the money is there – it’s a bit like Whac-A-Mole, really.

“So you do need a very concerted international attempt, both in Europe and beyond.”


10:11 AM BST

Starmer appoints Blair’s ex-chief of staff to lead Chagos Islands negotiations

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed a senior figure from the Blair administration to lead the Government's negotiations with Mauritius over control of the Chagos Islands.

Jonathan Powell, who served as Sir Tony’s chief of staff in No 10, has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the negotiations.

The islands, located in the Indian Ocean, have been British-owned since 1814 and include Diego Garcia, which hosts a US military base. But Mauritius has claimed the archipelago as its own territory.

Plans to return the islands to Mauritius were set to be dropped last year amid opposition from Grant Shapps, then the defence secretary, amid concerns about Mauritius’s alliance with China but talks have continued.

The Foreign Office said Mr Powell has “extensive experience in negotiations affecting the UK’s national interests in sensitive domestic and international contexts, including playing a central role in securing the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement”. He will begin his new role immediately.

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said: “Negotiations with Mauritius over the BIOT/Chagos Archipelago [British Indian Ocean Territory] are critical to the UK’s security. We are determined to protect the long-term, secure and effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.

“Jonathan Powell’s experience working with governments of all colours in the most sensitive international negotiations makes him uniquely qualified to serve as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy. I look forward to working with him as we endeavour to reach a settlement that protects UK interests and those of our partners."


09:55 AM BST

Migrant boats ‘are getting bigger’, says fisherman

A fisherman on the French coast said boats carrying migrants across the Channel “are getting bigger”, with some carrying 80 people.

The fisherman told the BBC: “They are getting bigger, the boats are carrying 60, 70, even 80 people and they’re large – 10-metre dinghies now as opposed to before, the last few years they were a bit smaller.

“On Monday when we were out it was quite a windy, rough day and I was very surprised to even hear one was coming across, and then when it got within around two miles of us we could see it in the distance.

“I heard a mayday put out on the radio from the Border Force vessel saying that the dinghy had broke up and there was over 50 people in the water.”

On Tuesday at least 12 people died while attempting to cross the Channel, in what has been described as the deadliest crossing incident of the year so far.


09:36 AM BST

Jenrick campaign ‘building up a head of steam’, says Lord Frost

Robert Jenrick’s Tory leadership campaign is building a “head of steam”, one of his most prominent supporters said.

Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, said Mr Jenrick has “momentum” after coming top in the first round of MP voting.

He told GB News: “I’ve come out in support of Robert Jenrick, and I think he has got a bit of momentum.

“I think it surprised a few people that he'd come first, and certainly we feel his campaign is beginning to pull in people from all sides of the party and build up a head of steam. But there's a long way to go.”

He added: “I hope and believe [in a final two against Kemi Badenoch] that Robert would win, but obviously I think it'd be a pretty tough fight.”


09:26 AM BST

I’ll fight winter fuel decision ‘tooth and nail’, vows Jenrick

Robert Jenrick has vowed to fight Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners “tooth and nail”.

MPs will vote on the plan to means-test the payments on Tuesday next week.

Mr Jenrick, the Tory leadership hopeful, said the policy is “unfair”.

He told Sky News: “We can’t let this contest distract us from what really matters and I am very worried that he is taking away the winter fuel payments of 10 million vulnerable people, people on incomes as low as £13,000 a year, and making a political choice to spend that money on his union paymasters, on giving £10,000 extra every year to well off train drivers, to spend £8 billion on an energy company that doesn’t produce any energy and that will not give £300 off energy bills as he promised.

“That is unfair and I am going to fight that tooth and nail.”


09:09 AM BST

Jenrick would ‘love to work’ with Patel amid battle for key endorsement

Robert Jenrick said he would “love to work” with Dame Priti Patel as Tory leadership candidates jostle to secure a potential endorsement from the former home secretary.

Dame Priti was eliminated from the leadership race after the first round of MP voting on Wednesday this week.

She secured the backing of 14 Tory MPs and all eyes are now on whether she could formally endorse another candidate and urge her supporters to follow her.

That could have a huge impact on the rest of the contest because it is up to MPs to decide who makes it into the final two to face the ballot of Tory members.

Asked if he expected to pick up Dame Priti’s supporters, Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “She is a great campaigner and I travelled around the country with her working hard over the course of the summer.

“I would love to work with Priti, I think she has a huge amount to offer the party.”


08:43 AM BST

Bringing back Rwanda plan would be a priority if I become PM, says Jenrick

Robert Jenrick said resurrecting the Rwanda migrant deportation plan would be a priority for him if he becomes Tory leader and wins the next general election.

Asked the question during an interview on Sky News this morning, Mr Jenrick said: “Yes. I think the British public expect the British state to secure our borders. That is its first duty.

“I have been very clear. If I was leader of the Conservative Party my approach would be this: If you come here illegally, for example on a small boat, you would be detained and removed within days, not months or years, we would end the merry go round of legal cases… and then we would use our finite resources to support people who are genuinely in need.”


08:25 AM BST

Germany using UK’s asylum facilities in Rwanda would be ‘complete farce’

Robert Jenrick said the prospect of Germany making use of asylum facilities paid for by the UK in Rwanda was a “complete farce”.

Germany is considering deporting migrants to Rwanda and it could use the facilities built under the now-scrapped UK scheme.

Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “I think it is a complete farce. The British government created a scheme in Rwanda which is admired by other countries around the world.

“Many of our partners, potentially Germany, have looked at that and thought that they might create a version of it in the years ahead.

“This new Labour Government have scrapped the scheme. Instead of strengthening it as I wanted… they have scrapped it altogether.

“And now the very facilities that we invested in may be taken up by countries like Germany who clearly are more determined to tackle this issue than this Labour Government who seem as if they want open borders in the UK.”


08:14 AM BST

Jenrick: ‘Open season’ for small boat crossings after Labour scrapped Rwanda plan

It is “open season” for migrants to make small boat Channel crossings after Labour scrapped the Rwanda deportation scheme, Robert Jenrick argued.

The Tory leadership candidate and former immigration minister told Sky News: “You have to break the business model of the people smuggling gangs and you do that by ensuring that if you come here illegally you are detained and you are removed, either back home to Albania or a country like that if it is safe to do so, I created that deal, or to a safe third country like Rwanda.

“Without that it is open season and that is what is happening now. Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have surrendered to the people smuggling gangs and are breaking the first duty of government which is to keep our borders secure and keep the public safe.”


08:06 AM BST

Labour’s small boats plan will fail without a deterrent, says Jenrick

Labour’s plan to stop small boat migrant Channel crossings will not succeed without a deterrent, Robert Jenrick said this morning.

It was suggested to the former immigration minister that Labour was taking a “grown up approach” to tackling people smuggling by focusing on the gangs and seizing boats.

Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “No. In fact, we have seen thousands of people crossing the Channel illegally since Labour came to power and they got rid of the one credible deterrent which was the Rwanda policy.

“Yvette Cooper will meet the National Crime Agency and police chiefs today and they will tell her what they told me when I was the minister which is that although it is important that we do that work it is not sufficient.

“You have to have a deterrent.”


07:57 AM BST

Ministers ‘considering anything’ to tackle prisons crisis amid reports of Estonia deal

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is “considering anything” to alleviate prison overcrowding, a minister has said.

Dame Angela Eagle, a minister in the Home Office, did not comment directly when asked on Sky News whether the Government was considering renting cells for British prisoners in Estonia, as has been reported overnight, as it was “not directly my ministerial responsibility”.

She said: “The last government closed loads of prison places and didn’t replace any of them, so I think that colleagues in the MoJ will be considering anything that they can to alleviate the problem.

“What we cannot have is people who are convicted of perhaps violent or serious crimes not being able to be in jail.”

She added: “I’m sure that colleagues are considering all sorts of actions to deal with the crisis that we’ve been left by the previous government in prison places and the prison service, and the criminal justice system generally.”


07:50 AM BST

Border Security Command chief to be announced ‘very shortly’

The Government will announce the head of its new Border Security Command “very shortly”, the border security minister has said.

Asked why the head of the new command had not already been named, Dame Angela Eagle told Sky News: “We are very close to making that appointment.

“You have to go through certain processes to make sure you get the right person, give people time to apply. You can’t wave a magic wand. There’ll be announcements about that very shortly.”

Asked whether it would be within the next week, Dame Angela said: “I’m not going to say in the next week, but there’ll be announcements, they are coming along very shortly.”


07:45 AM BST

Minister: Labour not considering more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers

The Government is not currently considering introducing more safe and legal routes for people to claim asylum in the UK, a minister said this morning.

It was suggested to Dame Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, that introducing more routes could lead to a reduction in small boat Channel crossings.

Asked if the routes could be expanded, Dame Angela told Times Radio: “That is not under consideration at the moment. We have to get control of our borders.

“We cannot look the other way while people smuggling gangs are trading in human misery, putting people’s lives at risk, all to make colossal profits.”


07:42 AM BST

Tories allowed small boat crossings to be industrialised, claims border security minister

The minister for border security and asylum claimed the Tories had allowed small boat migrant Channel crossings to be "industrialised".

Dame Angela Eagle told Times Radio this morning: “It is a complex problem and there are no easy simple fixes to it.

"But what we know is that we have to crackdown in the way that we are talking about so that we can try to dismantle a system of getting here that has essentially been allowed to be industrialised by the previous government.

“It will take time to dismantle it but we are determined to do so.”

She made the comments as Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, holds a summit today with other senior ministers, figures from the National Crime Agency and the intelligence services aimed at destroying the gangs.