Kemi Badenoch today set out to prove that she means business when it comes to clearing out the Tory has-beens and wets. The Conservative leader announced that, following a leave of absence from the House of Lords, wetter-in-chief Gavin Barwell will not have the whip restored.
The former chief of staff to Theresa May sparked fury after repeatedly accusing Badenoch of turning her party into a ‘Reform tribute act’. Barwell also goaded the Tory leader over what he called her ‘poor strategic judgment’, particularly her rejection of net zero and pledge to leave the ECHR.
In a letter to the former housing minister this evening, first revealed by the Mail, Badenoch said:
Robust debate and differences of opinion have always been part of our Party’s tradition. However, there is an important distinction between disagreement and conduct that undermines the discipline and mutual respect upon which any serious political party depends.
I expect those who take the Conservative Whip to uphold standards of collective responsibility, engage constructively with the Party’s internal processes, and treat colleagues with the respect necessary for effective teamwork. Your repeated public attacks on the Party and your refusal to engage with those processes have fallen short of those standards.
In a further effort to rid her party of Lib Dems in all but name, Badenoch announced that any aspiring Tory MP who does not support scrapping net zero and leaving the ECHR will be barred from the candidate list. More than 2,000 people have signed up to stand for the Conservatives, with Badenoch insisting that her party will never be a ‘retirement home for failed politicians’.
In a shock to no one, the official Tory wet pressure group ‘Prosper UK’ immediately began whingeing about being required to sign up to Badenoch’s policy platform. Yet the likes of Amber Rudd, former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and former West Midlands mayor Andy Street remain in the party. For now, at least – although Badenoch appears determined to leave the Tory wets high and dry.
Comments