Much attention has been given to Grant Shapps’ words this morning to Times Radio, in which he warned, as Sunak did overnight, that Labour shouldn’t be handed a “blank cheque” to do whatever they want. It’s not quite a concession of the election, but it’s close…
“You want to make sure that in this next government, whoever forms it, that there’s a proper system of accountability…you don’t want to have somebody receive a super majority. And in this case, of course, the concern would be that if Keir Starmer were to go into No 10…and that power was in some way unchecked, it would be very bad news for people in this country, a blank cheque approach, allowing to do anything they wanted, particularly when their particular set of plans are so vague.”
Miriam Cates on The Sun’s “Never Mind the Ballots” goes further:
“I do think that we are facing potentially a large Starmer majority… very very large majorities are not good for democracy.“
The messaging strategy has long been planned in CCHQ for otherwise faltering periods of the campaign. Will that be enough to shift the dial?
As Guido reported a few weeks ago, investigations undertaken by the Standards Commissioner into lockdown partygoers Virginia Crosbie, Eleanor Laing, Bernard Jenkin and Miriam Cates have found that the allegations are not upheld. The report has been released today, just before recess tomorrow…
Despite finding that the WhatsApp “invitation to the event was accurately quoted by the media“, the Commissioner concluded that this was an socially distanced event with “both business and social elements“, and thus the four have been let off. The report also found that there was “wine (probably not exceeding two bottles) and ‘nibbles’ were available at the event”. A reminder: the invitation from Anne Jenkin began with “Virginia and I are have joint birthday party drinks” and signed off as “X anne“. Co-conspirators can decide whether that sounds professional…
Read the full report below:
In a WhatsApp’d invitation from Anne Jenkin a party during lockdown was described as “joint birthday drinks“. It was both Virginia Crosbie’s 54th and Anne Jenkin’s 65th birthdays on December 8, 2020. Why let a little thing like lockdown get in the way of having a party?
Today Guido learnt that the Standards Commissioner will report he has “insufficient evidence” that the event was a lockdown rule breaching party. In this Guido Talks podcast we cast our minds back to what we know about the birthday bash and tell the story behind the story. Co-conspirators can decide for themselves whether they think they broke the rules…
Tory MP Miriam Cates, co-chair of the New Conservatives, was placed under investigation by the Commons Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg on the 14th December. This happens when there are claims an MP brought “significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its members generally“. There are no more details currently…
The Tory right’s revolt against Rishi’s cabinet reshuffle has gained momentum, as the New Conservatives have written a damning letter to the PM blasting him for “abandon[ing] voters who switched to us last time”. The group contains 24 Tory MPs elected in 2019, with Co-Chairs Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger vowing to instigate a fundraising campaign to bolster financial support for the re-election of right-wing Tories. Clearly Esther McVey’s appointment wasn’t enough of an olive branch…
Miriam Cates tells Guido:
“We must not turn our backs on the new coalition of voters in constituencies like mine who gave us our largest majority in 40 years. If we do not speak for them then we are giving up on any chance of success at the next election.”
The New Conservatives claim 20 MPs met last night to discuss their fury over the new Cabinet, particularly Braverman’s sacking. They’ll be waiting for Braverman’s promised “dossier of failure” in stopping illegal Channel crossings to further their campaign to stop the boats.
Read the full letter below:
A raucous debut celebration at the New Conservatives party in Manchester’s Impossible Bar* last night, with Red Wall Rottweiler Lee Anderson delivering a 20-minute speech to a packed and well-oiled crowd. As the likes of Suella Braverman and Miriam Cates watched on, Anderson explained his political evolution, why he left Labour, and even gave an emotional account of a World War 2 veteran’s refugee journey to Britain. He also cracked jokes about Prince Andrew, the Guardian, and Diane Abbott…
*A bar which features gender-neutral toilets – an irony which wasn’t lost on the crowd…
