5 days ago
Vance holds court with top Tories in Cotswolds thanks to George Osborne
JD Vance discussed free speech, the Ukraine war and the future of the British right with members of the shadow cabinet over tea in the Cotswolds on Tuesday afternoon.
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.'
