Vance holds court with top Tories in Cotswolds thanks to George Osborne
The US vice-president met Conservative politicians including Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, and George Osborne, the former chancellor, in the garden of Dean Manor, the grade II listed, 18th-century property that Vance is renting for his summer break.
Visitors also included Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary; Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary; and Katie Lam, the 2024 intake Tory MP and former Home Office adviser. Also in attendance was Sir Paul Marshall, the owner of GB News and The Spectator.
The gathering was organised by Osborne, who selected a group of people he thought would be of interest to Vance.
The meeting ran for 90 minutes with a wide range of topics discussed, including border control, how the Tory party can recover and the possibility of a centre-right government in 2029. Jenrick gave Vance a signed copy of Roger Scruton's England: An Elegy. He met Vance's ally and donor, the libertarian tech billionaire Peter Thiel, for lunch in London last month.
Afterwards, Osborne went on alone with Vance and the US vice-president's family friends from Ohio for dinner.
• Fancy a Cotswolds break like JD Vance? That will be £50,000
The gathering was part of a series of meetings Vance has undertaken while in the UK as he looks to further understand and learn more about British politics. On Wednesday morning, he met Nigel Farage, the Reform UK party leader, for a breakfast meeting.
Speaking after the conversation, Farage told The Times: 'Good to catch up with my old friend JD Vance this morning. Everything we discussed remains confidential.'
On Monday evening, Vance enjoyed a barbecue with his old friend James Orr, the Cambridge academic; Danny Kruger, the Tory MP; and Thomas Skinner, the former contestant on The Apprentice, known for his 'Bosh!' catchphrase.
Vance bonded with Skinner on social media and is said by insiders to love the Essex native's 'positivity and energy'.
Vance had also hoped to meet Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader. However, the pair were unable to find a time that worked for both of their schedules. After suggestions that Badenoch had been snubbed in favour of her former leadership rival Jenrick, Vance's press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, issued a clarification: 'The vice-president met with a number of people during his trip to the United Kingdom. He specifically tried to see Kemi Badenoch, a friend of his, but a meeting was not possible due to their conflicting schedules. Any suggestion otherwise is false.'
On Wednesday evening Vance arrived in Scotland as he continued his family holiday to the UK.
Trump's second-in-command landed at Prestwick airport before travelling with a large motorcade to the luxury Carnell Estate near Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire.
He was greeted at the resort by dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters, who accused him of supporting a genocide by Israel in Gaza.
The demonstrators were kettled by police as they bashed pots and pans, waved Palestinian flags and shouted pro-Palestine chants. Airspace restrictions are in place around the estate until Sunday.
It is thought that Vance will spend five days in Scotland — the same amount of time Trump did during his trip to the country last month.
As one ally of the vice-president said: 'He takes a close interest in British politics — not in a broad-brush way. You would be taken aback by how granular his grip is. It's beyond the international headlines.'
The conversations with both the Conservatives and Reform come as senior Tories look for ways to unite the right at the next election.
When it comes to Vance's itinerary while in the UK, the vice-president has been advised by both Orr, who has links to the Reform party, and Osborne.
Speaking on his Political Currency podcast last year, the former chancellor said that he and Vance bonded over the Cameron government. 'He's actually a friend of mine,' Osborne said. 'He was an admirer of the Cameron government and what it had done.'
When Vance visited the UK before the US election, he was given a personal tour of the British Museum by Osborne, its chairman.
Despite Vance's past criticisms of the UK on freedom of speech and defence spending, Orr said that the vice-president had a love of Britain. 'I've always had the same response to [people asking], 'Why is he so mean about Europe? Why does he seem to hate us Brits so much?'' Orr said.
'It's the reverse. He's critical of European leadership and the technocratic elite not because he hates Europe but precisely because he loves it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sturgeon: I do not agree with Forbes being banned by Fringe venue
Nicola Sturgeon has said she does not agree with Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes being banned from a major venue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The former SNP leader told reporters in Edinburgh that she disagreed with cancel culture. It comes amid a row over the Summerhall venue's decision not to have Ms Forbes back at any future events following a fringe show organised by The Herald newspaper. The venue has reportedly suggested that John Swinney's deputy posed a safety and wellbeing risk to its staff over her views on trans rights. Ms Forbes is a devout Christian and a member of the socially conservative Free Church of Scotland. She was criticised during her SNP leadership battle for her stance on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. Ms Sturgeon, who appointed Ms Forbes as finance secretary while she was first minister, was asked whether she agreed with Summerhall's decision. 'I don't agree with cancel culture and I don't agree with that,' she said. She added that she took no responsibility for the venue's decision. Summerhall, which has received more £600,000 in government funding, previously held Herald Unspun live events with Mr Swinney and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, the latter of whom has U-turned over his stance on gender self-ID. Ms Forbes expressed disappointment at the venue and said she 'fervently' believes in freedom of speech. 'Any effort to cancel people, especially politicians, undermines democracy,' she said. 'Many people attended the Herald event and it is important that we could freely discuss and debate matters in a respectful manner. 'I respect and acknowledge the fact that, in a liberal democracy, there are people who will agree with me and others who will disagree with me. 'That is all the more reason to create events where the audience and journalists can question politicians openly, as the Herald did.' In a statement, the Summerhall venue said: 'This event was booked as a series of long-form interviews prior to the guest list being confirmed. 'Summerhall Arts primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of the artists and performers we work with, and going forward we will be developing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that would prevent this oversight in our bookings process happening again.' Shona Robison, who succeeded Ms Forbes as Finance Secretary, also defended her colleague, calling Summerhall's decision 'unwise and unnecessary'.
STV News
27 minutes ago
- STV News
US vice president JD Vance's family visit Glasgow museum
The family of US vice president JD Vance have paid a visit to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. Security staff, including Secret Service personnel, guarded Usha Vance, the wife of JD Vance, and her family as they visited the museum on Friday. It is believed the second lady of the US and her children visited Pollok House and Kelvingrove Art Gallery as part of their trip to the city. It comes after Vance was seen playing golf at one of Donald Trump's golf courses on the first morning of his holiday in Scotland. James Chapelard James Chapelard James Chapelard James Chapelard He landed at Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire on Wednesday evening before travelling to the luxury Carnell Estate near Kilmarnock. On Thursday morning he headed to the Trump Turnberry resort on the Ayrshire coast and spent time playing on the golf course. It comes after the US president's own visit to Scotland last month, when he split his stay between Turnberry and his golf resort in Aberdeenshire. Vance was greeted by dozens of pro-Palestine protesters when he arrived at the Carnell Estate on Wednesday. The demonstrators waved Palestine flags and shouted pro-Palestine chants. Airspace restrictions are in place around the estate until Sunday. Vance will reportedly spend five days in Scotland – the same amount of time his boss Trump did during his trip to the country last month. Police Scotland previously said they have plans in place for a 'significant police operation' during Vance's time in Scotland. Vance had been holidaying in the Cotswolds but travelled to foreign secretary David Lammy's Chevening House retreat in Kent on Friday and joined him for some carp fishing. On Wednesday, Vance described the UK-US relationship as 'a beautiful alliance' during a speech at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain is getting worse and the old politics offers no solutions
Is life in Britain getting better or worse? Fraser Nelson has ignited a vigorous debate by positing that 'broadly speaking there has never been a better time to live in the UK'. As evidence, he pointed out that overall crime, according to surveys, is only a third of the level of 25 years ago; that crime had fallen while immigration surged; that air pollution was at historically low levels; and that carbon emissions were falling. His assertion feels implausible. Still, one cannot simply dismiss it with anecdotes, or just claim the data is wrong. Data does matter, and it's not necessarily mistaken to use it to question the popular mood. After all, with Nelson as editor, The Spectator persistently opposed lockdowns on the basis that Covid was neither as dangerous nor as fast-spreading as the government claimed. Hard information proved the policy wrong. So what is it that jars to so many of us – including this writer? Well, first of all, it's that if you are trying to assess the quality of life in Britain you must use all available information and analyse it properly. In fact, overall crime has stopped falling and is ticking up again. Crimes as various as sexual assault and shoplifting, crimes that matter to us day-to-day, are going up significantly. Moreover we are all adjusting our behaviour as shops, streets, and trains feel more threatening, and as the police seem ever less on the side of the law-abiding. The data doesn't catch everything. And crime is only one element of the picture. We've had a serious spike in inflation and we can see prices going up yet again under the very uncertain hand of the Bank of England. Vast numbers of Britons have given up working. And GDP per head has grown barely 6 per cent since its pre-crash peak in 2007 – 0.3 per cent a year. In this steady state economy, the only way you get richer is if someone else gets poorer. Look no further for the source of the social conflict of recent years. So the wider data certainly gives a gloomier picture. But personally I believe something even more important is also going on. People are sensing the country is reaching a tipping point and that the future is going to be different to the past. When this happens, existing data will, self-evidently, tell you nothing reliable about the future. What a growing number of voters now see is that for 20 years we have taken the easy way out. We haven't dealt with our problems and we have carried on living on tick. But now the various bills must be paid and it is not going to be fun. For 20 years we have robbed selected wealthy Peter to pay collective Paul – or rather not pay, because we haven't run a budget surplus in any of those years and now one government pound in every twelve is spent on financing debt. It's not surprising people worry another financial crisis is coming. For 20 years we allowed immigration to increase to its highest ever levels. The consequences are now visible well beyond our major cities and we have nowhere to put illegal migrants except in hotels in hitherto untouched communities. Is it any wonder that people are suddenly agitated about the scale of the problem? For 20 years we told people that wind and sun could power Britain. Now they see fields covered with solar panels, their energy bills going up, and heavy industry leaving the country. Is it surprising that suddenly people think they have been sold a pup and fear the consequences? Even in those fortunate parts of the country that remain relatively untouched by migration or crime, people are beginning to ask themselves 'how long can it last'? No-one seems to think the problems can be fixed. All they hope to do is insulate themselves from them as long as they can. That's why people are right to be unhappy. So why have so many voices embarked on the implausible task of telling people things are not so bad? It's because they have to. After all, if the last twenty years have not been spent on turning Britain into a close approximation of the Elysian fields, but rather on complacently storing up difficulties that are now bursting out, why should anyone have confidence in the political ideas of that period or the parties and politicians in charge during it? The answer is that people won't have such confidence and will turn to others. That's why the establishment are so keen to persuade you that things are not as bad as they seem. 'Trust us, it's not so bad, we'll put things back on track.' Trust me, they won't. The people who got us here, who tried to stop us leaving the EU, who told us we had to rely on immigration, who said we could safely run down our energy systems and outsource the consequences to China: these people won't get us out again. Whatever Britain's future, it can't be like the past. Change is needed and change is surely coming.
