Category Archives: conservative party

‘On The Brink Of Destruction’: Trevor Phillips Tells Oliver Dowden The Tories Face Election Wipeout

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Oliver Dowden was told the Tories are “on the brink of destruction” with just four days to go until the general election.

Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips also told the deputy prime minister his party’s campaign had been “a mess”.

The pair clashed as voters prepare to go to the polls on Thursday and with Labour still miles ahead of their rivals.

Phillips said: “This is your 738th weekend in charge. How does it feel to be essentially on the eve of destruction for your party, because that’s what every signal tells us.”

Dowden replied: “In an election campaign you can have commentators and you can have participants. I’m a participant, and my job, whether it’s on the doorstep or in this television studio speaking to you and your viewers at home, is to make the case for the Conservative Party and to warn – mark my words, dogs bark, cats meow and Labour put up taxes.

“Don’t take that risk, it’s in your hands. We have a clear plan to control migration, to start to reduce taxes. The game is on, the fight is on, now is the time for people to make up their minds about the future of this country.”

But Phillips hit back: “Liz Truss essentially made the party of sound money into the party of market chaos, and Boris Johnson made the party of law and order the party of lawbreakers.

“It’s really striking that in this interview you seem to refuse to accept that you’re carrying that burden – the gambling, D-Day, the rain. I mean, it’s been a mess.”

Dowden said: “Having been in power for 14 years, of course we haven’t got everything right. I totally accept that and apologies have been made for various things you’ve mentioned there.

“But fundamentally this is a choice about where we go as a country for the future.”

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‘One Of The Sickest Ever’: Rishi Sunak Slammed Over Latest Labour Attack Ad

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Rishi Sunak has been slammed over the Tories’ latest controversial Labour attack ad.

The graphic, which the prime minister posted on X, shows a man, a woman and a child with their hands above their heads with the message: Don’t Surrender Your Family’s Future To Labour.

Sunak’s accompanying message said: “I will never stop fighting for this country.”

It follows on from other hard-hitting attack ads produced by the Conservatives as election day looms and the polls continue to show Labour well ahead.

A week ago, the party was criticised for a video appearing to show a red carpet being rolled out on a beach for migrants arriving by boat with the message: “Labour’s approach to illegal immigration.”

The latest attempt to scare voters into voting Tory was comprehensively taken apart by social media users.

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Tories Heading For Electoral Wipeout As New Poll Predicts 250-Seat Labour Majority

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Labour is on course for a 250-seat Commons majority, according to yet another poll predicting wipeout for the Tories.

The Focaldata survey forecast that the Conservatives are set to lose a staggering 262 seats on July 4, leaving the party with just 110 MPs.

Labour, meanwhile, will gain 250 to leave them on 450 seats.

The Lib Dems will also see their number of MPs almost treble to 50, according to the poll, while the SNP would slump to just 16 MPs, down from the 48 they won in 2019.

The poll was conducted using the so-called “MRP” method, which uses a bigger than normal sample.

It also uses demographic data to calculate what the result would be on a seat-by-seat basis.

The Focaldata poll echoes a number of such surveys carried out by other pollsters since the campaign started, all of which pointed to huge Labour victories.

However, Focaldata’s chief research officer, James Kanagasooriam, said the final result could be even worse for the Tories as many of the seats they are forecast to win could end up falling another way.

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The Tory Betting Scandal Presented Rishi Sunak With An Opportunity To Look Strong – He Blew It

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They say that bad things come in threes. If only Rishi Sunak was that lucky.

Ever since he called the election on May 22, the prime minister has been hit by a litany of misfortune – some self-inflicted – which has completely derailed the Tories’ election campaign.

The latest – and possibly most damaging – one is the revelation that senior Tories close to the prime minister are accused of placing bets on the date of the election.

Two of them are Conservative candidates, one of whom – former Sunak parliamentary aide Craig Williams – has admitted he did it.

The Tories’ chief data officer, Nick Mason, and campaign director Tony Lee have each taken a “leave of absence” after also being accused.

The other alleged punter we currently know about is one of the PM’s close protection officers, or at least he was until he was suspended from duty by the Metropolitan Police.

It is the force’s different approach to disciplinary matters which have led to Sunak facing fresh accusations that he is weak, a label already attached to the prime minister by 61% of the public.

Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “Sunak promised integrity, professionalism and accountability, instead his weakness means he has overseen the same levels of sleaze and scandal that have come to epitomise the last 14 years of Tory government.

“Rishi Sunak needs to take immediate action against all implicated.”

Home secretary James Cleverly endured a tough grilling from Trevor Phillips on Sky News this morning over the PM’s apparent inaction.

“Why doesn’t he, like any other employer might do in this situation, call in the alleged offenders, ask them ‘did you place a bet or did you not place a bet’ and if the answer is yes, sack them?” Phillips asked.

After Cleverly claimed No.10′s hands are tied while the Gambling Commission investigates, Phillips told him: “No, no, no – he’s the prime minister. These people work for him. He can do whatever he wants.

“If it were you, he’d say ‘James, tell me the truth. Did you or did you not?’. And you, being an honest man, would say yes or no.”

The minister said: “I don’t necessarily know the process in detail, but the Gambling Commission is the appropriate body for this. They have said they’re investigating and they’ve also said it is inappropriate for us to comment on what is a live investigation.”

But Phillips hit back: “He’s the prime minister – he doesn’t get told what to do by the Gambling Commission.”

For his part, Sunak has said the affair has left him “very angry” and has pledged that any Tories found guilty will be booted out of the party.

However, regardless of the reason for Sunak’s unwillingness to take action now, the impression it has given is of a prime minister at the mercy of events rather than taking charge of them.

With less than two weeks to go until election day, the Tory betting scandal has merely confirmed their impression of a PM who can’t take the big decisions, which is one of many reasons why time is fast running out on his period in office.

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‘A Sign Of Moral Decay’: Trevor Phillips Clashes With James Cleverly Over Top Tories Betting On Election Date

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Trevor Phillips clashed with James Cleverly over the betting scandal which has sent the Tories’ election campaign into meltdown.

The Sky News presenter said it was a sign of the party’s “moral decay” and demanded to know why Rishi Sunak had not sacked those alleged to be involved.

It came as the Conservatives’ chief data officer, Nick Mason, became the latest senior official to be dragged into the affair.

According to The Sunday Times, he has taken a leave of absence amid allegations he placed dozens of bets on the date of the election.

Two Tory candidates, the party’s director of campaigns and one of the PM’s close protection officers are also under investigation.

On Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips this morning, the presenter told the home secretary: “The prime minister talked two weeks ago about the moral mission of your government to reform welfare.

“Let’s talk about morality. Is it a sign of the Conservative Party’s moral decay that some of your colleagues were more interested in stuffing their own pockets by gambling on the date of the election than on helping hard-pressed families hit by the cost of living?”

Cleverly replied: “I’m not in any way going to defend people who placed bets on that There is an investigation by the Gambling Commission and we have been told very, very clearly that we are not to discuss the investigations.”

Phillips went on to ask the minister why Sunak had not taken firm action against those involved.

He said: “The prime minister claims to be furious, but he says it’s all got to go through this process. Why doesn’t he, like any other employer might do in this situation, call in the alleged offenders, ask them ‘did you place a bet or did you not place a bet’ … and if the answer is yes, sack them?”

After Cleverly said that was the Gambling Commission’s job, Phillips told him: “No, no, no – he’s the prime minister. These people work for him. He can do whatever he wants.

“If it were you, he’d say ‘James, tell me the truth. Did you or did you not?’. And you, being an honest man, would say yes or no.”

But the home secretary replied: “I don’t necessarily know the process in detail, but the Gambling Commission is the appropriate body for this. They have said they’re investigating and they’ve also said it is inappropriate for us to comment on what is a live investigation.”

Phillips hit back: “He’s the prime minister – he doesn’t get told what to do by the Gambling Commission.”

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‘Admission Of Defeat’: Laura Kuenssberg Calls Out ‘Desperate’ Tory Campaign Tactics

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Laura Kuenssberg laid into transport secretary Mark Harper on Sunday and said the Conservatives’ campaign tactics are “desperate”.

The Tories have been trailing in the polls for weeks now – YouGov even put them in third place behind both Labour and Reform on Thursday.

The Conservatives have responded by telling voters supporting any party other than them is the same as giving Labour a “blank cheque” for a huge majority.

So, on her show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the presenter said: “The message shifting somewhat in the last few days, not so much necessarily to say, ‘let’s win this,’ but to say ‘you should worry about a big Labour majority to stop the other side romping home’.”

She showed viewers one of the Tories’ more recent social media adverts, which predicts a Labour victory with 490 seats.

Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories' own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.
Kuenssberg showing Harper the Tories’ own attack ad, which gives 57 seats.

“You seem to be resorting to just spooking people into some kind of massive majority.

“Isn’t that an admission of defeat, when as you said, not a single vote has been cast, apart from a few postal votes?” the BBC presenter asked.

The minister replied: “It’s not, it’s simply doing what you did before with me, just to point to the polls.

“All we’re doing is if you look at the polls, and if people voted the way the polls are suggesting, that’s what you’d get.

“And we’re saying to people is that what you want? And actually I don’t think it is what people want.”

He claimed the Tories are still fighting for every vote, and there’s still plenty of undecided voters.

According to research from consultancy firm More in Common, about 15% of voters are still undecided.

Kuenssberg hit back: “Isn’t that exactly the point?

“There are still millions of people in this country, probably many of them watching this morning, who haven’t decided what they’re going to do yet, and they’re hearing from you, is not ‘hey here’s our positive vision’.

“What they’re hearing is, ‘oh well you can’t give the other side everything they want so stick with us.’

“Isn’t that something that sounds a bit desperate?”

“Not really,” Harper said, and claimed broadcasters often talk about polls.

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Support For Tories Is ‘At Its Lowest Ever In British Polling History,’ Elections Guru Says

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Public support for the Conservatives have fallen to a historic low in polling history, John Curtice said today.

The famous pollster told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “Standing at just 20%, Conservative support is now at its lowest ever in British polling history.

“Mr Sunak, whose own personal ratings have clearly fallen, must be beginning to doubt his decision to call the election early.”

He added that a eight-point lead over Reform last week has fallen to just a four-point.

But Curtice also noticed that Labour are “being challenged by the Greens and the Lib Dems”, and support has fallen by two points – to 41%, on average.

His remarks came after another wave of polls predicted a pretty bleak result for the Conservatives when the public go to the ballot box.

A Savanta survey of 2,045 adults for The Sunday Telegraph found the party were at the lowest point since the final days of Theresa May’s time in office in early 2019, having dropped down four points to just 21%.

The same poll, conducted between 12-14 June and released on Saturday, showed Reform UK had climbed up three points to 13%.

Political research director at Savanta, Chris Hopkins, said it showed “nothing short of electoral extinction for the Conservative Party”.

“The hopes of Conservative candidates are being shot to pieces by poll after poll showing the Conservative Party in increasingly dire straits – and we’re only halfway through the campaign,” he said.

“There’s a real sense that things could still get worse for the Conservatives, and with postal votes about to drop through millions of letterboxes, time is already close to running out for Rishi Sunak.”

It comes after a separate Survation poll for Best for Britain, published in The Sunday Times, suggested the Conservatives would secure only 72 seats in the next parliament.

It predicted Labour would win 456, meaning the party would win a stomping 262 majority, the Liberal Democrats 56 seats, Reform seven and the Greens one.

Survation – which had polled 22,000 adults between 31 May and 13 June – showed the vote share would have halved from 44% in 2 019 to 24%.

Meanwhile, YouGov poll released last Thursday caused a huge stir within Westminster as it put Reform ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.

Nigel Farage’s populist party was on 19% of the vote while the Tories were on 18%, prompting his party to position themselves as the “opposition to Labour”.

Rishi Sunak downplayed this poll on Friday.

Speaking to journalists from the G7 summit in Italy, he said: “We are only halfway through this election, so I’m still fighting very hard for every vote.”

He also pledged to stay in parliament as an MP even if the Conservatives lose the election.

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‘Why Should Anyone Believe You?’: Rishi Sunak Monstered By Journalists At Tory Manifesto Launch

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Rishi Sunak endured a torrid grilling from journalists as he launched the Tories’ underwhelming election manifesto.

The 76-page document only contained one major new policy – a plan to abolish National Insurance contributions for the self-employed.

The party has also vowed to cut another 2p off the overall rate of National Insurance, despite previous reductions doing nothing to improve their poll ratings.

But the prime minister risked a backlash from Tory right-wingers for refusing to commit to removing Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a clear sign that he expects to lose on July 4, Sunak begged voters not to hand Keir Starmer a “blank cheque” in government as he once again repeated his hotly-contested claim that Labour will put up taxes by £2,000 per household.

Although he got a warm reception from the Tory ministers and supporters gathered at Silverstone Grand Prix race track, the PM was monstered during a question and answer session with reporters.

ITV political editor Robert Peston said: “Tories in government since 2010 have been pushing up the tax burden to levels we haven’t seen since the late 1940s. Why should anyone believe you when you say you’re going to cut tax?”

BBC political editor Chris Mason told him: “For much of the last 18 months, you’ve tried everything to try and revive Conservative fortunes and not much appears to have worked.

“Could we rename this document as your last chance saloon? What is in this to shift things that perhaps haven’t shifted up until now?”

Sunak told him the country had “turned the corner” thanks to his leadership.

He said: “There is a clear choice at this election. We are the only party putting bold action on the table that will transform our country.

“Labour have nothing to say about the problems our country faces and how best to address them. Nothing. Keir Starmer is asking for a blank cheque and he will not tell people which taxes he is going to put up that are ultimately going to cost them £2,000.”

Ben Riley-Smith, political editor of the Daily Telegraph, asked the PM: “What do you say to those who say the manifesto isn’t ambitious enough and this won’t be a game-changer?”

Sky News political editor Beth Rigby said: “A recent poll shows only one in six voters thinks you won’t raise their taxes, compared with one in four for Labour.

“Labour’s more trusted on tax than you at the moment – that’s your record as chancellor and now prime minister. I’m sure that’s a disappointment to you.

“Haven’t you blown it now, whatever you say?”

But Sunak insisted he was “very proud” of his record as chancellor, pointing out that he had brought in the furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic.

He said: “We will always be there to protect this country through difficult times.”

Labour campaign chief Pat McFadden said: “This Conservative manifesto is a recipe for five more years of Tory chaos.

“After 14 years in power, the prime minister’s desperate manifesto is stuffed full of unfunded spending commitments. The prime minister that was brought in to be the antidote to the chaos of Liz Truss has instead become the next instalment of the same thing.”

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Tory Minister Forced To Deny That Rishi Sunak Will Quit Before July 4

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A Tory minister has been forced to deny that Rishi Sunak will resign before the general election amid the row over his D-Day snub.

The prime minister is under mounting pressure following his decision to leave Normandy early during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of mainland Europe during World War 2.

Sunak cancelled media interviews yesterday – a virtually unprecedented move during an election campaign – as the row continued.

That led to speculation that the PM might even quit in order to try to prevent a Conservative wipeout on July 4.

Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries last night posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Rumours around tonight that Sunak’s about to fall on his sword.”

On Sky News this morning, work and pensions secretary was sent out to defend Sunak, despite admitting he had not spoken to him since the D-day row broke.

Presenter Trevor Phillips asked him: “Would it not be a courageous and moral act for him to announce that he knows he is leading his party to defeat, partly because of his own actions and his own shortcomings, and that he will not step aside to save seats which won’t be saved if he stays for the next four weeks?

“Is he going to lead you into this election?”

Stride replied: “Absolutely, and there should be no question of anything other than that because what matters now is there’s a clear choice for the British people.”

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Tory Split Erupts As Candidate Calls Out Party For Attacking Transgender Rights

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Conservative candidate Elliot Colburn has called out his own party for attacking the transgender community once again.

Colburn, who is fighting to retain the Carshalton and Wallington seat he won as a Tory in 2019, made his feelings clear by responding to the Conservatives’ official account on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

The Conservatives posted: “We know what a woman is. Keir Starmer doesn’t.”

Colburn replied: “Here we go again, wondered how long it would take.”

His comments will likely frustrate those in CCHQ considering the party is attempting to promote its plans to alter the Equality Act today.

If the Conservatives are re-elected, they have promised to allow organisations to ban transgender women from entering single-sex spaces and to rewrite the definition of sex to be confined to biological sex.

The Tories have tried to turn trans rights into a wedge issue by repeatedly claiming Keir Starmer has been unclear when it comes to defining sex.

The Labour leader hardened his stance last summer by condemning gender self-identification and claiming a woman is an “adult female”.

Tory candidate Colburn has pleaded with his party in the past to stop “demonising trans people”.

Last October, while speaking at a fringer event at the party’s conference in Manchester, he said; “I want to make one thing perfectly clear to our Conservative colleagues. We will not win the next general election fighting with the LGBT+ community.

“I do not meet people on the doorsteps that say: ‘you know what, I am struggling with the most of living right now, my mortgage has gone up, I am worried about heating this winter, but I will forget all of that, as long as you stop trans people playing sport’. No one is saying that to me.”

He added: “The Conservative Party has come so far.

“We are the party that was responsible for Section 28. We have rightly apologised for that. We have tried so hard. David Cameron in particular tried to detoxify this party.

“We have to drop this hardcore rhetoric and we have to drop it now.”

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