Steerpike

As rumours continue to swirl about who will make a bid for the Tory leadership, Suella Braverman has been on manoeuvres in Washington. The former home secretary's speech at the National Conservatism conference in the US constituted a rather scathing attack on her own party, and has ruffled feathers across the political spectrum. In a speech considered to be part of her leadership bid, Braverman refused to pull any punches. Slamming equality and diversity training, the ex-cabinet minister told her crowd that: We Tory ministers, nominally in charge of the system, completely failed. The Progress flag flew over our buildings as if they were occupied territory... I wanted to scrap the unconscious bias training which basically taught people how bad and racist Britain was.

Richard Holden has resigned from his role as Conservative party chairman. The news comes as the Tory party has announced its shadow cabinet reshuffle – after it won just over 120 seats in Thursday’s election.  Despite holding onto the safe seat he was parachuted into just days before the nomination deadline, Holden has left his chairman role – with Richard Fuller take the post in the meantime. In a candid admission, Fuller said that the party has had had ‘a difficult election’, adding: ‘We should also challenge ourselves candidly and deeply on the strengths of the Conservative party across the country and outline where improvements can be made.

Zut alors! It's all kicking off in France where the nation this weekend went to the polls for the second round of voting to the National Assembly. Elections are a tricky business at the best of times, let alone in modern France – a nation of 246 varieties of cheese, as De Gaulle despaired. But, not to worry: cometh the hour, cometh the podcasters. On Sunday the exit poll dropped, showing that Marine Le Pen's party were predicted to come third behind the New Popular Front (NFP), a left-wing alliance, with Emmanuel Macron's centrists in second place. Among those quick out of the gates with their searing hot takes was Denis MacShane, the disgraced former Europe minister. He wrote on Twitter/X: Macron’s gamble appears to have paid off.

It’s the Portillo moment of 2024. Liz Truss sensationally lost her safe South West Norfolk seat this morning, less than two years after serving as prime minister. Amid much online excitement about her prospects of losing, Truss was initially not seen at the count at 6 a.m, forcing the result to be delayed by several minutes. Some of those watching began slow clapping before she appeared, not wearing a Conservative rosette. There were gasps and cheers as the results were read out, as Truss became the biggest Tory casualty on a painful night for the party. Labour’s Terry Jermy won by more than 600 votes in a seat that previously had a Conservative majority of 26,195, making it the 13th safest Tory seat nationally.

They may not command the power that they once did, but newspaper endorsements are still highly-prized by political parties. Labour is trying to convince voters that they have moved on since the Corbyn era, with the backing of Fleet Street's titles being a useful way of demonstrating this to their readers. The endorsement of the Sun this week comes after four years of effort by Keir Starmer's to show that his party has truly changed. Facing a landslide loss, the Conservatives meanwhile are getting only semi-enthusiastic support from the Tory press. The Daily Mail for instance is advocating tactical voting for the Tories to ensure it provides an effective opposition to a prospective Labour government, while conceding that the party is not realistically likely to win the election.

Uh oh. Amid the longstanding inquiry into Captain Sir Tom Moore's family, one rather damning conclusion has so far been reached. It has been revealed today that Captain Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband have been disqualified from being charity trustees as part of an ongoing investigation by the Charity Commission. Talk about a fall from grace... Interest in the Captain Tom Foundation – set up in 2020 after the army veteran fundraised £38.9 million for the NHS during lockdown – piqued after concerns arose about the management of the charity and its independence from the ex-soldier's family. Sir Tom Moore passed away in February 2021, shortly after his 100th birthday and six months later, his daughter was made CEO of the charity.