There goes another one. Nadhim Zahawi has this morning announced he will not stand at the next election. The former Chancellor and popular figure within the party quotes Shakespeare to say “parting is such sweet sorrow“. He’s had quite the rollercoaster last few years…
Zahawi says “my mistakes are mine“. Guido makes that 67 heading for the door…
Read his full statement below:
Last night’s annual kebab awards was a relatively understated affair. Keynote speaker Sadiq Khan made a dig at Lee Anderson, saying antisemitism or Islamophobia should “not be given a free pass for electoral gain.” Nadhim Zahawi opted for a less contentious route, conceding that “kebabs are like politicians, best enjoyed with a pinch of salt and a good spin,” while tipping his hat to the toilers of the kebab trade, without whom, the “doner could’ve been a goner“. Needless to say, the audience preferred Zahawi’s speech…
Last to the stage was Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell, who – more than one attendee noted – had taken advantage of the free booze. Aside from bashing GB News for not “grilling” their guests enough, she also made a dig at the Tories: “I’m surprised the Tories aren’t up for an award tonight, they’re just so good at skewering! Skewering themselves, obviously“. Side splitting stuff…
More intriguingly, she hinted that a Labour government might introduce cuts to VAT. She repeated that “we hear you” on calls for cuts to VAT, though claimed she couldn’t make commitments: “if you know the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, I’m absolutely not allowed to tell you that, but we hear you”. Could it really be the case that Labour would put the Tories to shame on VAT…
Viewers of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the new ITV drama about the Horizon scandal, have spotted that Nadhim Zahawi is playing himself as he questions Post Office CEO Paula Vennels. Zahawi’s performance comes in the third episode as the Commons business committee questions the Post Office on the Horizon system. Some frank and robust acting on display…
Nadhim tells Guido:
“I was gratified to have been given the opportunity the appear in Mr Bates vs The Post Office, just as I am glad to have grilled the former post office CEO in 2015. The team at ITV have done vital work in increasing the public consciousness of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in recent British history- and I would encourage everyone to watch it“.
This comes as Ed Davey “regrets not doing more” when serving as minister for postal affairs during the scandal. Zahawi acted for free and told executives to give any cash they would have slid his way to charity. Actors will be terrified of losing out on roles as politicians to the politicians themselves…
What is it with party chairs and their taxes? Having brought down Nadhim Zahawi, tax lawyer Dan Neidle has now set his sights on ex-Labour Party chair Ian Lavery. According to The i, Lavery is “refusing to confirm he paid tax on £140,000″ in unexplained payments and written-off loans from the Northumberland National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Now Neidle is asking questions…
It’s virtually a mirror image of the Zahawi saga: Lavery is dodging questions, claiming HMRC has already conducted a “desktop review” of his taxes, and claiming “no further assessment [is] necessary”. Apparently i News contacted him weeks ago, with no response…
Neidle added:
“When there are financial irregularities, undocumented payments, and uncommercial arrangements involving loans, it is reasonable to ask whether the correct tax has been paid on the payments. It is a very simple question, and should have a simple answer… I fear that, like Mr Zahawi, Mr Lavery has decided the best response to people asking legitimate questions about his tax affairs is to provide bland statements that all tax has been properly paid, ignore the specific questions being asked, and hope it all goes away. I expect, like Mr Zahawi, he will be disappointed.”
Perhaps now Rishi’s had a spring clean of CCHQ, this is something Lee Anderson could bring up given his previous beef with Lavery…
Nadhim Zahawi’s local association has just emailed members following Nadhim’s fall from grace yesterday, and it doesn’t read well for the embattled MP. Amid calls for him to resign from Parliament – admittedly spearheaded by the LibDems – the association flags the upcoming selection vote as per the party’s constitution, and ominously says “We look forward to campaigning and re-electing a Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon at the next General Election”. Notably not committing to Nadhim as their candidate…
The notice says the association “respects the result of [the] enquiry [sic], along with the decision and action by the Prime Minister”.
“we commend Mr Zahawi for being a hardworking, collaborative and approachable constituency MP with an open door for residents, many of whom he has helped. We are confident he will continue to serve constituents conscientiously from the back benches.
Stratford-on-Avon Conservative Association is bound by the constitution of the Conservative & Unionist Party. In preparation for the next General Election all Conservative Associations will be selecting their parliamentary candidates and in the coming weeks Stratford-on-Avon Conservative Association will follow due process for the selection procedure.”
It doesn’t sound positive for Zahawi’s fortunes at said re-selection battle…
Rishi’s had a lot on his plate over the past month, from strikes to seatbelt scandal, and it’s been reflected in his popularity amongst conservatives. Conservative Home’s latest cabinet league table is out, and the Prime Minister is on 2.9%, down 10.2% on the last outing. Suella Braverman has also taken a hit, she’s on 17.3% – a decrease of 15%. Although Jeremy Hunt hasn’t lost any support, he hardly has reason to celebrate. He’s sat on -6.2%.
The top 5 most popular cabinet members remain unchanged. As the month’s big winner – no doubt from the government’s response to Scotland’s gender bill – Alister Jack climbs by 6%. Sunak’s decision to sack Nadhim Zahawi won’t have made him any enemies – at least from ConHome readers. The former Party Chairman saw his support plummet by a staggering 67.3% before his sacking…
