Education Secretary Gillian Keegan confirmed in front of the Education Committee this morning that trans guidance to be issued before Christmas will not restrict social transitioning. Keegan faced a fiery line from Tory MP Nick Fletcher, who asserted he “can’t go to bed at night knowing a Secretary of State is allowing current trans situation in schools“. Keegan hit back: “Never go to bed at night thinking you care more about children than I do”. She is the Education Secretary after all…
Keegan explained that banning social transitioning in schools would require a “change in the equalities law,” a matter for Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch to deal with. Kemi has been positioned as taking the more hardline approach on the issue of social transitioning in schools, having been brought in to help draw up new guidance, while Keegan has been criticised for being “too liberal“. Though if star of the Tory-right and “culture warrior” Kemi was so passionate about the subject, then it’s up to the Equalities Minister to change the law…
The post-reshuffle instalment of Conservative Home’s cabinet league table paints a bleak picture for Sunak. James Cleverly’s loyalty to Number 10 has stung him, with the new Home Secretary dropping down to 22nd place from number one last month. Sunak has slid back down over the last two months, now reaching depths of -25.4%, his lowest score yet. Hunt is up 10 points, though still in the red. Members don’t appear too pleased with Rishi’s pre-election machinations…
Kemi Badenoch has slipped into a Cleverly-shaped hole to take the gold medal. The Tory right’s darling now has a comfortable 14-point lead ahead of Penny Mordaunt in number two. Johnny Mercer sits in 3rd while Esther McVey’s entry into the table lands her straight into joint 4th place with Tom Tugendhat. Scores are falling all round – not an optimistic picture…
Following Suella Braverman’s conference speech where she warned of a “hurricane” of migration, bookies’ favourite Kemi Badenoch fired back last night at a conference event hosted by The Spectator:
“We live in a multiracial society…But we have to be very careful about how we explain and express immigration policies, so that people aren’t getting echoes of things that were less palatable.”
Kemi isn’t the first senior Tory to distance themselves from Braverman’s words. Ideal for Suella, who will not mind a difference of emphasis emerging on the matter…
Guido hears Downing Street Chief of Staff Liam Booth-Smith is doing his best to keep up morale at SpAd School, with Guido’s moles describing last week’s meeting as “more buoyant” than previous weeks – co-conspirators will recall Booth-Smith told pessimistic aides to quit immediately if they didn’t believe the Tories could win – and that he now has a “spring in his step” heading into conference. If there was any doubt, the gloves are finally off…
Having lost their erstwhile Director of Communications Amber de Botton last month, Number 10 are keen to find a new, bold approach going into the election year. Look no further than the Net Zero rollback last week. Booth-Smith was particularly impressed by Kemi Badenoch’s punchy interview with Sky News on that very topic. Apparently he described her entire media round performance as “magic“. They’ll need to cast a spell on voters next year after all…
Multiple sources described the new approach as the right call, though one did say “some soppy wets sat there with worried little faces“. Maybe they should have thrown in the towel when they had the chance…
Sparks were flying in the Sky News studio this morning as Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch collided with host Jayne Secker over last night’s decision to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars. Secker’s claim the move won’t “really help the poorest in society” because they “don’t drive” wasn’t going to go unchallenged…
“If you step outside of London, come to my constituency, you will find the poorest in society drive because they live in a rural area… What you’ve said is actually quite astonishing… People who live in cities will be able to deal with this in a way that is quite different from people who live in towns and rural areas. We need to think about everybody, not just the metropolitan bubble.”
Secker pointed out she’s not from the metropolitan bubble, she’s from Newcastle (not exactly rural either). Even so, her view is one typical of the SW1 nexus mindset. “A ludicrous statement”…
It’s been a solid month for the Cabinet’s popularity amongst Conservative members, as Conservative Home’s latest ranking shows a significant recovery from last month’s record lows. Rishi Sunak is the big winner, as his rating swings from a meagre -2.7 to a solid mid-table performance on +20.7. Last month a record 9 members of the Cabinet saw negative ratings, that number’s now back down to 5.
The recovery looks to be down to the Conservatives’ surprise win in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, and their subsequent focus on environmental policy. Grant Shapps, who has led the anti eco-extremist charge, is up over 10 points, climbing out of the negatives to +3.1. Though, this one-off electoral success is yet to rub off on Party Chair, Greg Hands, who declined on last months rankings. Kemi Badenoch has seen her ratings rise by 14 points, and moves to second from third. She’s only behind Ben Wallace, who has maintained his iron grip on the top spot as his stint as Defence Secretary comes to an end.
