UK
Crisis? What Crisis? Mark Harper insists improving economy will save the Tories
WINNIE THE POOH OPTIMISM
Transport Secretary's insistence that Tories must 'stick to the plan' is likely to enrage MPs
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has insisted the plan is working despite dire election results (Photo: Jeff Overs/BBC/AFP)
By Richard Vaughan
May 5, 2024
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has insisted the general election is still winnable for the Conservatives as he dismissed calls for the party to change approach despite a battering in the local elections.
Mr Harper was adamant that Rishi Sunak’s “plan is working” amid growing calls from both moderate and right-wing Tories for the Prime Minister to change tack going into the national polls.
“We have a plan, and the plan is working but we’re not all the way through yet,” he told the BBC. “People want to see delivery, right? So they want to see inflation continue to come down. They want to see the boats stop. They want to see NHS waiting lists continue to fall. We’ve made a lot of progress on that, but we’re not all of the way there.”
His comments came in the wake of the Conservatives losing its mayoralty in the West Midlands, receiving a drubbing in the London mayoral race and the party suffering its worst set of council results in 40 years.
The phrase “Crisis? What crisis?” was used to paraphrase former Labour prime minister’s Jim Callaghan’s response to the Winter of Discontent in the 1970s, when he denied there was “mounting chaos” in the country being torn apart by industrial action.
The Prime Minister is being pulled in opposite directions by his own party, who fear his approach will lead them to a historic defeat in the general election.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman said the dire local election results showed that Tory voters were “on strike” as she demanded Mr Sunak move further to the right, urging him to introduce a cap on migrants, to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and to slash income tax.
By Richard Vaughan
May 5, 2024
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has insisted the general election is still winnable for the Conservatives as he dismissed calls for the party to change approach despite a battering in the local elections.
Mr Harper was adamant that Rishi Sunak’s “plan is working” amid growing calls from both moderate and right-wing Tories for the Prime Minister to change tack going into the national polls.
“We have a plan, and the plan is working but we’re not all the way through yet,” he told the BBC. “People want to see delivery, right? So they want to see inflation continue to come down. They want to see the boats stop. They want to see NHS waiting lists continue to fall. We’ve made a lot of progress on that, but we’re not all of the way there.”
His comments came in the wake of the Conservatives losing its mayoralty in the West Midlands, receiving a drubbing in the London mayoral race and the party suffering its worst set of council results in 40 years.
The phrase “Crisis? What crisis?” was used to paraphrase former Labour prime minister’s Jim Callaghan’s response to the Winter of Discontent in the 1970s, when he denied there was “mounting chaos” in the country being torn apart by industrial action.
The Prime Minister is being pulled in opposite directions by his own party, who fear his approach will lead them to a historic defeat in the general election.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman said the dire local election results showed that Tory voters were “on strike” as she demanded Mr Sunak move further to the right, urging him to introduce a cap on migrants, to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and to slash income tax.
Asked for her evidence of a need to shift further to the right, she said: “The evidence is that people are not voting for what he is doing because they don’t believe that we are serious about some of these issues.”
When asked if she regretted supporting Mr Sunak’s leadership, Ms Braverman said: “Honestly, yes I do.”
In contrast, Andy Street, who was defeated in his attempt to secure a third term as the Tory mayor for the West Midlands, said his campaign showed that the party could succeed if it made a more liberal offer to voters.
Mr Street said his brand of “moderative, inclusive, tolerant Conservatism, that gets on and delivered” nearly defeated Labour in one of its strongholds.
Asked if he was worried about the Tories drifting to the right, he replied: “I would definitely not advise that drift.
And he added: “The message is clear: winning from that centre ground is what happens.”
Conservative former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns claimed the results showed that the party needed Boris Johnson to return to the “front line of politics”.
She told Sky News’: “I think now we’ve got to take the fight to Labour, I would like to see real common sense conservatism, honouring our manifesto commitments, I would like to see the return of Boris on the front line of politics, whether that’s going for a seat in the next election and being front and centre of our election campaign.
Asked if she could see Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak campaigning together on joint visits, she said: “I haven’t spoken to Boris, I haven’t spoken to the Prime Minister about this, but I’m an optimist, I’m not sure whether they’d share a stage together, but look how wonderful it is Boris campaigning in these elections.”
Dame Andrea submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Sunak in November.
Steerpike
Suella Braverman: we will be lucky to have any Tory MPs soon
Suella Braverman: we will be lucky to have any Tory MPs soon
5 May 2024,
Suella Braverman (Image: BBC)
So, it didn’t take long for the recriminations to begin. After Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives were subject to a massive drubbing in this week’s council elections, and were hit with the loss of the West Midlands mayoralty last night, the blame game is well underway.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman certainly wasted no time in giving Sunak both barrels. Appearing on Sunday with Lura Kuenssberg, the MP laid into the PM for the disastrous results, and predicted that the party was heading for a wipe-out in the next election, saying:
‘The plan is not working … at this rate we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.’
Mr S imagines the Tories won’t be putting that on election leaflets any time soon…
In the interview, Braverman also accused the PM of essentially fiddling while the country burned, pointing out that the government had spent more time legislating on smoking and pedicabs than trying to fix the health service or social care. She added that it was a ‘disgrace’ that her party was trailing Keir Starmer, who has ‘the charisma of a peanut’.
Braverman admitted that she regretted backing Sunak as leader, but in a small consolation for the PM, argued that it was pointless trying to replace him now:
‘I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.’
Still, Mr S isn’t sure Sunak will want to follow all of Braverman’s advice. Writing in the Telegraph she suggested that the hole the party is in was Sunak’s responsibility, and he should, err, ‘start shovelling’. It seems it really is only down from here for the party…
WRITTEN BY Steerpike
Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
So, it didn’t take long for the recriminations to begin. After Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives were subject to a massive drubbing in this week’s council elections, and were hit with the loss of the West Midlands mayoralty last night, the blame game is well underway.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman certainly wasted no time in giving Sunak both barrels. Appearing on Sunday with Lura Kuenssberg, the MP laid into the PM for the disastrous results, and predicted that the party was heading for a wipe-out in the next election, saying:
‘The plan is not working … at this rate we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.’
Mr S imagines the Tories won’t be putting that on election leaflets any time soon…
In the interview, Braverman also accused the PM of essentially fiddling while the country burned, pointing out that the government had spent more time legislating on smoking and pedicabs than trying to fix the health service or social care. She added that it was a ‘disgrace’ that her party was trailing Keir Starmer, who has ‘the charisma of a peanut’.
Braverman admitted that she regretted backing Sunak as leader, but in a small consolation for the PM, argued that it was pointless trying to replace him now:
‘I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.’
Still, Mr S isn’t sure Sunak will want to follow all of Braverman’s advice. Writing in the Telegraph she suggested that the hole the party is in was Sunak’s responsibility, and he should, err, ‘start shovelling’. It seems it really is only down from here for the party…
WRITTEN BY Steerpike
Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
Senior Tories clash over Braverman’s call for party to move further right
Former home secretary calls for income tax cuts, legal migration cap and pulling the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights
May 5, 2024
Senior Conservatives are clashing over whether Rishi Sunak needs to move the party further to the right after a damaging set of local election results.
Outgoing West Midlands Mayor Andy Street urged the Prime Minister not to stray further to the right, and stick close to the political centre to stave off general election defeat as he lost his post in a narrow defeat to Labour.
But former home secretary Suella Braverman insisted “terrible” local election results, with the Tories losing 473 council seats so far and Labour taking all but one metro mayoralty, showed “the plan is not working”.
Ms Braverman urged Mr Sunak to “change course” and move rightwards with income tax cuts, a cap on legal migration and pulling the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Asked for her evidence of a need to shift further to the right, she told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “The evidence is that people are not voting for what he is doing because they don’t believe that we are serious about some of these issues.”
Ms Braverman also appeared to confirm that any plot to oust Mr Sunak had fizzled out.
But her clash with Mr Street showed the party is now embroiled in a round of infighting over political direction and campaign strategy as it stares down the barrel of general election defeat.
After his knife-edge defeat on Saturday night, Mr Street told Sky News: “I would definitely not advise that drift [to the right].
“The message is clear: winning from that centre ground is what happens.”
Transport Secretary Mark Harper attempted to sidestep the debate as he gave broadcast interviews on Sunday.
He said Mr Street’s remarks were in line with Mr Sunak’s desire to “focus on the priorities of the British people”, including bearing down on inflation and stopping Channel small boat crossings.
When put to him that Mr Street had suggested more than that, Mr Harper told Sky News: “We are going to stick to focusing on the priorities that the Prime Minister set out, which are the Government’s priorities, the Prime Minister’s priorities but they are also the priorities of the British people.”
Mr Harper also insisted the Conservatives were still in with a chance of winning the next general election, despite the party’s local elections trouncing.
“There is everything to fight for and the Conservative Party under the Prime Minister’s leadership is absolutely up for that fight.”
Suella Braverman Calls For Tories To Swing Further To The Right In Furious Tirade Against Rishi Sunak
Kate Nicholson
David Maddox
Sun, 5 May 2024
Tory MPs have been warned that the reason for their electoral drubbing was not that they “were not right-wing or extreme enough”, as a battle over the party’s future begins.
The announcement late on Saturday night that former Tory mayor Andy Street had been defeated in the West Midlands has reopened questions over whether the party “is conservative enough” or should change its leader, replacing Rishi Sunak.
But Boris Johnson’s former director of communications, Guto Harri, joined Mr Street in warning against a “drift to the right”.
Rishi Sunak’s leadership is under fire (Molly Darlington)
It came as darling of the right Suella Braverman, who was sacked by Mr Sunak as home secretary, penned an article in the aftermath of the local election results demanding the party embraces a much more right-wing agenda.
Tories have been shocked by the scale of the defeat, with 472 council seats lost and a dreadful result for the party in London, where Sadiq Khan was returned as the city’s mayor for a third term.
Ms Braverman told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC: “I am urging the prime minister to change direction. The problem is that many Conservative voters are on strike. When I was knocking on doors in the Midlands and elsewhere, Conservative voters told me we weren’t conservative enough.”
She insisted that Mr Sunak needs to put a cap on migration and take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights.
She claimed that “the evidence” for her message “is that people are not voting for us”.
Ms Braverman said she “regretted” supporting Mr Sunak’s bid to be leader in 2022, and added: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Andy Street’s defeat is a huge blow to the Tories (PA)
Ms Braverman warned against a change of leader: “I don’t think that’s a feasible prospect at this time. There is no superman or superwoman who can come in. Rishi Sunak needs to own this.”
However, on Saturday night as he digested his own defeat, Mr Street had pointed out that his much more centrist agenda had almost delivered an unlikely victory against a collapse in the national vote.
He was asked by Sky News: “Are you worried about the Conservative Party drifting to the right, over-emphasising the threat from Reform and ignoring other voters?”
Mr Street replied: “I would definitely not advise that drift.”
And on the Trevor Phillips show on Sky News on Sunday morning, Mr Harri joined Mr Street in warning against a Braverman right-wing agenda.
He said: “We did not lose because we were not right-wing enough. We did not lose because we were not extreme enough.”
Boris Johnson’s former advisor, Guto Harri, has warned against a lurch to the right (PA/Reuters)
The former Boris Johnson aide said the lesson of history is that governments need to govern from the centre.
But there were also questions about Mr Sunak’s own future with allies calling around angry MPs asking for “calm”.
One senior backbencher and former minister told The Independent that the result in the West Midlands and the revelations that Mr Sunak “could not be bothered to vote for Susan Hall [in London]” means that his future “is in play again”.
The senior MP added: “The West Midlands result is Rishi’s final ‘the emperor has no clothes’ moment. Combined with the loss of over 400 Tory councillors, London (in which the PM didn’t even bother to vote) and now this, it’s a cumulative total disaster. The only guy who actually won – Houchen – didn’t even have the balls to wear a blue rosette!”
Suella Braverman has again suggested the party is ‘not Conservative enough’ (Getty Images)
But transport secretary Mark Harper insisted that changing leader now would be wrong.
He claimed that the results showed that Labour is not on track for a huge victory in the general election.
The minister said on Sunday: “The election results over the last few days were disappointing. But the prime minister is interested in taking difficult decisions that are in the long-term interests of the country.
“The message from the election success in the Tees Valley is about having a plan and delivering a plan. We have made huge progress on our priorities, we have brought inflation down.
“The plan is working, but we haven’t got all the way through to the end of it yet.”
Tory rebel Braverman urges Sunak to change course after election blows
David Lynch, PA Political Staff
Sun, 5 May 2024
Rishi Sunak must change his political course to remain in power as there is no time to change Tory leader, Suella Braverman has said following a bruising set of local election results.
The senior Tory urged the Prime Minister to move to the right in response to the poll defeats, which saw a shock victory for Labour in the West Midlands mayoral contest on Saturday night.
Labour’s Richard Parker seized victory from outgoing Conservative mayor Andy Street by a mere 1,508 votes.
The party also stormed to victory in the London mayoral poll, with Sadiq Khan securing a historic third term in office, with a majority of some 275,000 over Conservative rival Susan Hall.
(PA Graphics)
“The plan is not working and I despair at these terrible results,” Conservative former home secretary Ms Braverman told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.
“I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the Prime Minister to change course, to – with humility – reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.”
Asked about whether she wanted to see a change in leader, Ms Braverman said: “I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest.
“There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.”
Instead she called on Rishi Sunak to “own” the result, adding: “Therefore he needs to fix it.”
Among the measures Ms Braverman has urged the prime minister to adopt to win back voters are further tax cuts and a cap on legal migration.
She claimed Tory voters were currently “on strike”, and warned: “I talk to many of my colleagues who are privately demoralised and incredibly concerned about the prospects.
“At this rate we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a Conservative former minister who submitted a letter of no-confidence in Mr Sunak in November, meanwhile suggested former prime minister Boris Johnson should return to frontline politics to ease the party’s woes.
Andrea Jenkyns speaking to media at Westminster (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
She told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I think now we’ve got to take the fight to Labour, I would like to see real common sense conservatism, honouring our manifesto commitments, I would like to see the return of Boris on the front line of politics, whether that’s going for a seat in the next election and being front and centre of our election campaign.”
Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted the Conservatives still had “everything to fight for” ahead of the general election.
He would not, however, be drawn into a pull-and-push about the future direction of the Conservative party.
Outgoing West Midlands mayor Mr Street had urged the Prime Minister not to heed calls from Tory rebels to shift to the right following the local election results, and instead adopt a moderate position.
Asked about Mr Street’s remarks by Sky News, Mr Harper said: “What he is talking about there is what I just said.
“He is talking about you focus on the priorities of the British people, that is what you do.”
Mark Harper speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London (Victoria Jones/PA)
In a statement released after the blow in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister acknowledged the result was “disappointing”, but added he would “continue working as hard as ever to take the fight to Labour and deliver a brighter future for our country”.
The West Midlands contest, which the Tories were on course to win, was seen as a potential lifeline in an otherwise disastrous set of results for the Conservatives.
The Prime Minister had hoped a brace of wins – alongside Lord Houchen’s victory in the Tees Valley mayoralty – could be enough to stave off rebellious Tory backbenchers.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the result in the West Midlands as “phenomenal” and “beyond our expectations”.
(PA Graphics)
It came after his party dominated mayoral elections across England – winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and in Greater Manchester.
With the results of 107 councils in England that held elections on May 2 declared, Labour has won 1,158 seats, an increase of more than 232.
The Liberal Democrats beat the Tories into second place, winning 552 seats, up nearly 100.
The Tories are just behind on 515 seats, down nearly 400.
Rishi Sunak to face pressure to shift right after disastrous election results
Rowena Mason
Kate Nicholson
Sun, 5 May 2024
Suella Braverman on Laura Kuenssberg BBC
Suella Bravermanpinned the Tories’ terrible performance at the local elections on PM Rishi Sunak in a furious rant on the BBC – and called for the government to lean further right.
The former home secretary, and well-known figure on the right of the party, said there was “no disguising” the fact the Conservatives had a terrible set of results in the local elections.
She told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my country, and I want us to win. And I’m urging the prime minister to change course.”
But, Braverman admitted it was not “feasible” to change the leader, saying, “there is no superman or superwoman” who can fix the party’s fortunes right now.
She continued: “What does the prime minister need to do? I think he needs to show people he really cares about the things he has talked about.
“He needs to actually lower taxes in a way people will feel, not tweaking around the edges.”
She also claimed that he needs to take the UK out the European Convention on Human Rights to show he is serious about “stopping the boats”.
Braverman added that the evidence people want the Tories to go further right is in the way people are not voting for her party.
She said: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Polls have suggested the Tories are in for a thrashing when the public next hit the ballot box.
Braverman said: “We are not delivering for the people, we are not delivering on the policies that people want.
“it is a disgrace that we are trailing behind Labour, led by Keir Starmer who has the charisma of a peanut, who is overseeing a rabble of hard-left maniacs, who would undo Brexit, who would open our border and who would indoctrinate our institutions and our schools with politically-correct madness.”
Kuenssberg asked her: “Do you regret backing Rishi Sunak?”
“Honestly?” She paused. “Yes I do, because I had assurances from Rishi Sunak that he was going to put a cap on illegal migration that he was going to do something about the European Convention on Human Rights, that he was going to do something about the transgender ideology in schools.
“He hasn’t done that.”
Braverman also predicted the Tories would face defeat before the local elections, back in April.
Kate Nicholson
HUFFPOST
Sun, 5 May 2024
Suella Braverman on Laura Kuenssberg BBC
Suella Bravermanpinned the Tories’ terrible performance at the local elections on PM Rishi Sunak in a furious rant on the BBC – and called for the government to lean further right.
The former home secretary, and well-known figure on the right of the party, said there was “no disguising” the fact the Conservatives had a terrible set of results in the local elections.
She told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my country, and I want us to win. And I’m urging the prime minister to change course.”
But, Braverman admitted it was not “feasible” to change the leader, saying, “there is no superman or superwoman” who can fix the party’s fortunes right now.
She continued: “What does the prime minister need to do? I think he needs to show people he really cares about the things he has talked about.
“He needs to actually lower taxes in a way people will feel, not tweaking around the edges.”
She also claimed that he needs to take the UK out the European Convention on Human Rights to show he is serious about “stopping the boats”.
Braverman added that the evidence people want the Tories to go further right is in the way people are not voting for her party.
She said: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Polls have suggested the Tories are in for a thrashing when the public next hit the ballot box.
Braverman said: “We are not delivering for the people, we are not delivering on the policies that people want.
“it is a disgrace that we are trailing behind Labour, led by Keir Starmer who has the charisma of a peanut, who is overseeing a rabble of hard-left maniacs, who would undo Brexit, who would open our border and who would indoctrinate our institutions and our schools with politically-correct madness.”
Kuenssberg asked her: “Do you regret backing Rishi Sunak?”
“Honestly?” She paused. “Yes I do, because I had assurances from Rishi Sunak that he was going to put a cap on illegal migration that he was going to do something about the European Convention on Human Rights, that he was going to do something about the transgender ideology in schools.
“He hasn’t done that.”
Braverman also predicted the Tories would face defeat before the local elections, back in April.
Related...
Rishi Sunak Limps On As Tory Rebellion Crumbles Despite Miserable Local Elections
Labour Wins West Midlands Mayor Election In Another Huge Blow For Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak Humiliated As Labour Wins Mayoral Race In His Own Constituency
Tories warned not to embrace right-wing extremism after disastrous local elections
Sun, 5 May 2024
Suella Braverman on Laura Kuenssberg BBC
Suella Bravermanpinned the Tories’ terrible performance at the local elections on PM Rishi Sunak in a furious rant on the BBC – and called for the government to lean further right.
The former home secretary, and well-known figure on the right of the party, said there was “no disguising” the fact the Conservatives had a terrible set of results in the local elections.
She told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my country, and I want us to win. And I’m urging the prime minister to change course.”
But, Braverman admitted it was not “feasible” to change the leader, saying, “there is no superman or superwoman” who can fix the party’s fortunes right now.
She continued: “What does the prime minister need to do? I think he needs to show people he really cares about the things he has talked about.
“He needs to actually lower taxes in a way people will feel, not tweaking around the edges.”
She also claimed that he needs to take the UK out the European Convention on Human Rights to show he is serious about “stopping the boats”.
Braverman added that the evidence people want the Tories to go further right is in the way people are not voting for her party.
She said: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Polls have suggested the Tories are in for a thrashing when the public next hit the ballot box.
Braverman said: “We are not delivering for the people, we are not delivering on the policies that people want.
“it is a disgrace that we are trailing behind Labour, led by Keir Starmer who has the charisma of a peanut, who is overseeing a rabble of hard-left maniacs, who would undo Brexit, who would open our border and who would indoctrinate our institutions and our schools with politically-correct madness.”
Kuenssberg asked her: “Do you regret backing Rishi Sunak?”
“Honestly?” She paused. “Yes I do, because I had assurances from Rishi Sunak that he was going to put a cap on illegal migration that he was going to do something about the European Convention on Human Rights, that he was going to do something about the transgender ideology in schools.
“He hasn’t done that.”
Braverman also predicted the Tories would face defeat before the local elections, back in April.
Related...
Rishi Sunak Limps On As Tory Rebellion Crumbles Despite Miserable Local Elections
Labour Wins West Midlands Mayor Election In Another Huge Blow For Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak Humiliated As Labour Wins Mayoral Race In His Own Constituency
Tories warned not to embrace right-wing extremism after disastrous local elections
David Maddox
Sun, 5 May 2024
Tory MPs have been warned that the reason for their electoral drubbing was not that they “were not right-wing or extreme enough”, as a battle over the party’s future begins.
The announcement late on Saturday night that former Tory mayor Andy Street had been defeated in the West Midlands has reopened questions over whether the party “is conservative enough” or should change its leader, replacing Rishi Sunak.
But Boris Johnson’s former director of communications, Guto Harri, joined Mr Street in warning against a “drift to the right”.
Rishi Sunak’s leadership is under fire (Molly Darlington)
It came as darling of the right Suella Braverman, who was sacked by Mr Sunak as home secretary, penned an article in the aftermath of the local election results demanding the party embraces a much more right-wing agenda.
Tories have been shocked by the scale of the defeat, with 472 council seats lost and a dreadful result for the party in London, where Sadiq Khan was returned as the city’s mayor for a third term.
Ms Braverman told Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC: “I am urging the prime minister to change direction. The problem is that many Conservative voters are on strike. When I was knocking on doors in the Midlands and elsewhere, Conservative voters told me we weren’t conservative enough.”
She insisted that Mr Sunak needs to put a cap on migration and take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights.
She claimed that “the evidence” for her message “is that people are not voting for us”.
Ms Braverman said she “regretted” supporting Mr Sunak’s bid to be leader in 2022, and added: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Andy Street’s defeat is a huge blow to the Tories (PA)
Ms Braverman warned against a change of leader: “I don’t think that’s a feasible prospect at this time. There is no superman or superwoman who can come in. Rishi Sunak needs to own this.”
However, on Saturday night as he digested his own defeat, Mr Street had pointed out that his much more centrist agenda had almost delivered an unlikely victory against a collapse in the national vote.
He was asked by Sky News: “Are you worried about the Conservative Party drifting to the right, over-emphasising the threat from Reform and ignoring other voters?”
Mr Street replied: “I would definitely not advise that drift.”
And on the Trevor Phillips show on Sky News on Sunday morning, Mr Harri joined Mr Street in warning against a Braverman right-wing agenda.
He said: “We did not lose because we were not right-wing enough. We did not lose because we were not extreme enough.”
Boris Johnson’s former advisor, Guto Harri, has warned against a lurch to the right (PA/Reuters)
The former Boris Johnson aide said the lesson of history is that governments need to govern from the centre.
But there were also questions about Mr Sunak’s own future with allies calling around angry MPs asking for “calm”.
One senior backbencher and former minister told The Independent that the result in the West Midlands and the revelations that Mr Sunak “could not be bothered to vote for Susan Hall [in London]” means that his future “is in play again”.
The senior MP added: “The West Midlands result is Rishi’s final ‘the emperor has no clothes’ moment. Combined with the loss of over 400 Tory councillors, London (in which the PM didn’t even bother to vote) and now this, it’s a cumulative total disaster. The only guy who actually won – Houchen – didn’t even have the balls to wear a blue rosette!”
Suella Braverman has again suggested the party is ‘not Conservative enough’ (Getty Images)
But transport secretary Mark Harper insisted that changing leader now would be wrong.
He claimed that the results showed that Labour is not on track for a huge victory in the general election.
The minister said on Sunday: “The election results over the last few days were disappointing. But the prime minister is interested in taking difficult decisions that are in the long-term interests of the country.
“The message from the election success in the Tees Valley is about having a plan and delivering a plan. We have made huge progress on our priorities, we have brought inflation down.
“The plan is working, but we haven’t got all the way through to the end of it yet.”
Tory rebel Braverman urges Sunak to change course after election blows
David Lynch, PA Political Staff
Sun, 5 May 2024
Rishi Sunak must change his political course to remain in power as there is no time to change Tory leader, Suella Braverman has said following a bruising set of local election results.
The senior Tory urged the Prime Minister to move to the right in response to the poll defeats, which saw a shock victory for Labour in the West Midlands mayoral contest on Saturday night.
Labour’s Richard Parker seized victory from outgoing Conservative mayor Andy Street by a mere 1,508 votes.
The party also stormed to victory in the London mayoral poll, with Sadiq Khan securing a historic third term in office, with a majority of some 275,000 over Conservative rival Susan Hall.
(PA Graphics)
“The plan is not working and I despair at these terrible results,” Conservative former home secretary Ms Braverman told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.
“I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the Prime Minister to change course, to – with humility – reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.”
Asked about whether she wanted to see a change in leader, Ms Braverman said: “I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest.
“There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.”
Instead she called on Rishi Sunak to “own” the result, adding: “Therefore he needs to fix it.”
Among the measures Ms Braverman has urged the prime minister to adopt to win back voters are further tax cuts and a cap on legal migration.
She claimed Tory voters were currently “on strike”, and warned: “I talk to many of my colleagues who are privately demoralised and incredibly concerned about the prospects.
“At this rate we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a Conservative former minister who submitted a letter of no-confidence in Mr Sunak in November, meanwhile suggested former prime minister Boris Johnson should return to frontline politics to ease the party’s woes.
Andrea Jenkyns speaking to media at Westminster (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
She told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I think now we’ve got to take the fight to Labour, I would like to see real common sense conservatism, honouring our manifesto commitments, I would like to see the return of Boris on the front line of politics, whether that’s going for a seat in the next election and being front and centre of our election campaign.”
Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted the Conservatives still had “everything to fight for” ahead of the general election.
He would not, however, be drawn into a pull-and-push about the future direction of the Conservative party.
Outgoing West Midlands mayor Mr Street had urged the Prime Minister not to heed calls from Tory rebels to shift to the right following the local election results, and instead adopt a moderate position.
Asked about Mr Street’s remarks by Sky News, Mr Harper said: “What he is talking about there is what I just said.
“He is talking about you focus on the priorities of the British people, that is what you do.”
Mark Harper speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London (Victoria Jones/PA)
In a statement released after the blow in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister acknowledged the result was “disappointing”, but added he would “continue working as hard as ever to take the fight to Labour and deliver a brighter future for our country”.
The West Midlands contest, which the Tories were on course to win, was seen as a potential lifeline in an otherwise disastrous set of results for the Conservatives.
The Prime Minister had hoped a brace of wins – alongside Lord Houchen’s victory in the Tees Valley mayoralty – could be enough to stave off rebellious Tory backbenchers.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the result in the West Midlands as “phenomenal” and “beyond our expectations”.
(PA Graphics)
It came after his party dominated mayoral elections across England – winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and in Greater Manchester.
With the results of 107 councils in England that held elections on May 2 declared, Labour has won 1,158 seats, an increase of more than 232.
The Liberal Democrats beat the Tories into second place, winning 552 seats, up nearly 100.
The Tories are just behind on 515 seats, down nearly 400.
Rishi Sunak to face pressure to shift right after disastrous election results
Rowena Mason
Whitehall editor
Sun, 5 May 2024
Rishi Sunak on a visit to the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire on 3 May. His allies insist his plan is working despite criticism from the right of the party.Photograph: Molly Darlington/AP
Rishi Sunak will face pressure to adopt hard rightwing policies such as an immigration cap and scrapping European human rights law this week, with Suella Braverman saying he needs to “own and fix” a disastrous set of local election results.
Sunak’s allies were on Sunday insisting he wanted to stick to his current plan and that it was working, as plotters against his leadership accepted they did not have the support to challenge him.
But Braverman issued an extraordinary broadside against Sunak on a BBC news programme, saying she regretted voting for him to be leader but it was too late to get rid of him. She also said the party would be “lucky to have any MPs” if it continued on the same path.
Urging him to change course, she called for more conservative policies such as withdrawing from the European convention on human rights – a move that would be hugely unpopular with moderate Conservatives.
Braverman told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the prime minister to change course, to – with humility – reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.”
Asked about whether she wanted to see a change in leader, Braverman said: “I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.”
Instead she called on Rishi Sunak to “own” the result, adding: “Therefore he needs to fix it.” One of her allies, John Hayes, called for a reshuffle to bring her back into the cabinet.
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister and communities secretary, along with ex-minister Neil O’Brien are to publish a pamphlet this week urging more action to bring down migration before the election.
However, Sunak is looking at a schism in the party, as other senior Conservatives dismissed Braverman’s diagnosis that a swing further to the right was needed. Some Tories believe the prime minister needs to tack to the centre to take votes from Labour and the Lib Dems in marginal seats, while others believe the best strategy is squeezing the Reform UK vote on the right.
Andy Street, the former West Midlands mayor who narrowly lost to Labour on Saturday, said: “The thing everyone should take from Birmingham and the West Midlands is this brand of moderative, inclusive, tolerant conservatism, that gets on and delivered, has come within an ace of beating the Labour party in what they considered to be their back yard – that’s the message from here tonight.”
Robert Buckland, a Tory MP and former justice secretary from the One Nation wing of the party, told GB News that the British public are “putting their fingers in their ears” about the Conservatives because they are engaged in too much infighting.
“The more that we talk about factions and ideology and the less we focus on business, on growth, on jobs, on housing, all those issues that actually people are talking about … then I think we’ve become an irrelevant rump,” he said.
“The Conservative party wins elections, not by being soft and mushy but by reflecting the views of the British public, by being in alliance with them. The coalition that we need is with the British people. We’ve been the party of the nation for generations. I believe we can get back to that, but we need to focus on what people are talking about.”
Sunak has been largely absent from the airwaves over the weekend, apart from appearing at Ben Houchen’s Tees Valley victory on Friday – a sole pocket of good news for the Conservatives.
However, Mark Harper, the transport secretary and a longtime supporter of Sunak, gave a round of broadcast interviews insisting the prime minister’s plan is working. He said the party still had “everything to fight for” and pointed to there being only nine points between the Tories and Labour in the vote share in England.
Suella Braverman Calls For Tories To Swing Further To The Right In Furious Tirade Against Rishi Sunak
Sun, 5 May 2024
Rishi Sunak on a visit to the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire on 3 May. His allies insist his plan is working despite criticism from the right of the party.Photograph: Molly Darlington/AP
Rishi Sunak will face pressure to adopt hard rightwing policies such as an immigration cap and scrapping European human rights law this week, with Suella Braverman saying he needs to “own and fix” a disastrous set of local election results.
Sunak’s allies were on Sunday insisting he wanted to stick to his current plan and that it was working, as plotters against his leadership accepted they did not have the support to challenge him.
But Braverman issued an extraordinary broadside against Sunak on a BBC news programme, saying she regretted voting for him to be leader but it was too late to get rid of him. She also said the party would be “lucky to have any MPs” if it continued on the same path.
Urging him to change course, she called for more conservative policies such as withdrawing from the European convention on human rights – a move that would be hugely unpopular with moderate Conservatives.
Braverman told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the prime minister to change course, to – with humility – reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.”
Asked about whether she wanted to see a change in leader, Braverman said: “I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.”
Instead she called on Rishi Sunak to “own” the result, adding: “Therefore he needs to fix it.” One of her allies, John Hayes, called for a reshuffle to bring her back into the cabinet.
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister and communities secretary, along with ex-minister Neil O’Brien are to publish a pamphlet this week urging more action to bring down migration before the election.
However, Sunak is looking at a schism in the party, as other senior Conservatives dismissed Braverman’s diagnosis that a swing further to the right was needed. Some Tories believe the prime minister needs to tack to the centre to take votes from Labour and the Lib Dems in marginal seats, while others believe the best strategy is squeezing the Reform UK vote on the right.
Andy Street, the former West Midlands mayor who narrowly lost to Labour on Saturday, said: “The thing everyone should take from Birmingham and the West Midlands is this brand of moderative, inclusive, tolerant conservatism, that gets on and delivered, has come within an ace of beating the Labour party in what they considered to be their back yard – that’s the message from here tonight.”
Robert Buckland, a Tory MP and former justice secretary from the One Nation wing of the party, told GB News that the British public are “putting their fingers in their ears” about the Conservatives because they are engaged in too much infighting.
“The more that we talk about factions and ideology and the less we focus on business, on growth, on jobs, on housing, all those issues that actually people are talking about … then I think we’ve become an irrelevant rump,” he said.
“The Conservative party wins elections, not by being soft and mushy but by reflecting the views of the British public, by being in alliance with them. The coalition that we need is with the British people. We’ve been the party of the nation for generations. I believe we can get back to that, but we need to focus on what people are talking about.”
Sunak has been largely absent from the airwaves over the weekend, apart from appearing at Ben Houchen’s Tees Valley victory on Friday – a sole pocket of good news for the Conservatives.
However, Mark Harper, the transport secretary and a longtime supporter of Sunak, gave a round of broadcast interviews insisting the prime minister’s plan is working. He said the party still had “everything to fight for” and pointed to there being only nine points between the Tories and Labour in the vote share in England.
Suella Braverman Calls For Tories To Swing Further To The Right In Furious Tirade Against Rishi Sunak
Kate Nicholson
Sun, 5 May 2024
Suella Braverman on Laura Kuenssberg BBC
Suella Bravermanpinned the Tories’ terrible performance at the local elections on PM Rishi Sunak in a furious rant on the BBC – and called for the government to lean further right.
The former home secretary, and well-known figure on the right of the party, said there was “no disguising” the fact the Conservatives had a terrible set of results in the local elections.
She told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I love my country, I care about my country, and I want us to win. And I’m urging the prime minister to change course.”
But, Braverman admitted it was not “feasible” to change the leader, saying, “there is no superman or superwoman” who can fix the party’s fortunes right now.
She continued: “What does the prime minister need to do? I think he needs to show people he really cares about the things he has talked about.
“He needs to actually lower taxes in a way people will feel, not tweaking around the edges.”
She also claimed that he needs to take the UK out the European Convention on Human Rights to show he is serious about “stopping the boats”.
Braverman added that the evidence people want the Tories to go further right is in the way people are not voting for her party.
She said: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
Polls have suggested the Tories are in for a thrashing when the public next hit the ballot box.
Braverman said: “We are not delivering for the people, we are not delivering on the policies that people want.
“it is a disgrace that we are trailing behind Labour, led by Keir Starmer who has the charisma of a peanut, who is overseeing a rabble of hard-left maniacs, who would undo Brexit, who would open our border and who would indoctrinate our institutions and our schools with politically-correct madness.”
Kuenssberg asked her: “Do you regret backing Rishi Sunak?”
“Honestly?” She paused. “Yes I do, because I had assurances from Rishi Sunak that he was going to put a cap on illegal migration that he was going to do something about the European Convention on Human Rights, that he was going to do something about the transgender ideology in schools.
“He hasn’t done that.”
Braverman also predicted the Tories would face defeat before the local elections, back in April.
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