Latest news with #MargaretThatcherConference
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Kemi Badenoch heckled by climate change protesters
Kemi Badnenoch was heckled by two climate protestors during a speech praising the legacy of Margaret Thatcher. The demonstrators were dragged from London's Guildhall on Monday after standing on their chairs to shout at the Tory leader about climate change and the distribution of wealth. Mrs Badenoch had just begun her speech to close the Margaret Thatcher Conference, hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank, which was founded by the late prime minister. The first protestor stood on her chair less than a minute after Mrs Badenoch began speaking to shout: 'How can you sit here celebrating her?' She unfurled a banner and heckled: 'The unfair distribution of wealth we see in this country and globally, Thatcher's Tories, your Tories, have been responsible for.' The protestor was pulled down from her chair by CPS staff and escorted out. The demonstrator shouted: 'You talk about the future of Conservatism. There will be no future if you allow billionaires and fossil fuel companies to keep driving climate breakdown and genocide from Gaza to Congo.' Kemi Badenoch calmly responded to the first protest, saying from the stage 'I didn't actually hear anything she said', before adding: 'Clearly some are still quite terrified of Thatcher.' A second protestor then stood up on their chair to heckle Mrs Badenoch before being escorted out. A protest group called Climate Resistance was behind the action, according to one of the two hecklers. One told the PA news agency that the Conservative Party had 'allowed extreme wealth to be amassed by a tiny minority, fuelling climate crisis and poverty '. The woman, who did not provide a name, added: 'It's just shameful that this event exists. We should not be celebrating this person.' 'She put us on the path that we're on right now to this mass inequality we're seeing, the cost of living crisis, the housing crisis, the climate crisis, it's all connected to her.' Mrs Badenoch said in response to the second heckler: 'It just seems to show that the Left still believe [Thatcher] is to blame for everything that is going wrong in their lives. 'And that is why it is so critical that all of us here honour Mrs Thatcher, not just as Britain's first female prime minister, but as the leader who saved our country from that lot.' Mrs Badenoch, the Conservatives' fourth female leader, heaped praise on her predecessor, telling the conference: 'Margaret Thatcher understood that you don't fix a broken country by making the state bigger. 'You fix it by making the people stronger. And that is exactly what the Conservative Party under my leadership will do. And it starts with renewal. 'Just as she rebuilt Britain, we must renew our party, rebuild our country and save our future. Margaret Thatcher didn't fight to make Britain comfortable with decline. She fought to make it great again.' She then quipped: 'Britain's future will not be written by the socialists shouting in the audience, it will not be written by the bureaucrats or the doom-mongers. It will be written by us.' Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, later told a dinner to mark the conclusion of the conference that he was committed to making the Tories 'the party of enterprise' again. He also told attendees that the Conservatives needed to 'be honest with the British people' and said that he was ready to tell 'a hard truth' about the economy. Mr Griffith called for politicians to stop comparing the UK to the G7 nations, saying: 'With the exception of the US, that's just the club of other ageing, de-industrialising and low-growth economies. It's a major category error.' Mr Griffith said that the UK needed to stop running in the 'seniors' race' of global economies and instead look to the G20 'as our pace car'.
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Stop Thatcher obsession, Tory whip tells party
The Conservative Party should end its 'obsession' with Margaret Thatcher, a Tory assistant whip has said. Katie Lam, the MP for Weald of Kent, said the former prime minister 'correctly diagnosed' a number of problems, but she did not believe that Thatcherism 'helps or serves us now'. On Monday, she told the Margaret Thatcher Conference, held by the Centre for Policy think tank: 'I think Margaret Thatcher correctly diagnosed a number of things about the world, about human nature, about this country, and those facts remain true. 'A lot of her basic insights to do with the market, to do with how people make choices, to do with how people run their households were all right. So there's no need to throw them away. 'I don't think, though, that it helps or serves the Conservative Party in 2025 to be obsessed with Thatcher and Thatcherism.' Ms Lam, who entered Parliament last year, served as an adviser to Suella Braverman and deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson in Downing Street. She told the conference in central London: 'Margaret Thatcher went out before I was born, so thinking too much about events and the way that the world was decades ago – well, half a century ago when she came to leadership of the Conservative Party – I'm not sure necessarily helps or serves us now.' It comes after Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, was revealed to have said that Thatcher made an 'error' in not doing more to help mining communities find new work after the pits closed. In a private meeting in September, she said: 'There's some things which we have learnt from Mrs Thatcher, which we shouldn't repeat, in terms of errors which occurred. 'And one of them, I think, was around what happened with communities where the industry was closed. You think about mining. I think having a very clear plan for how to regenerate communities when there is going to be a loss of a particular industry that many people rely on.' The Conservatives are in the process of rebuilding after a historic wipeout at the general election, which left them with 121 seats. The party is also contending with surging support for Reform UK. Sir Keir Starmer praised Thatcher while he was in opposition, writing in The Telegraph in December 2023 that she effected 'meaningful change' in Britain. Following a backlash, she was later forced to clarify that he had wanted to draw attention to her 'driving sense of purpose', but that his remarks did not mean he agreed with her, following a backlash.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Madrid's ‘Margaret Thatcher': Let's take the testosterone out of politics
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the conservative leader of Madrid, has much in common with Donald Trump and indeed many of the Right-wing leaders shaping world politics. But there is a noticeable difference that sets her apart: her openness to mass migration. Madrid is having a major moment, topping the charts for economic growth and investment amid a mammoth tourism boom fuelled by her low-tax, business-friendly policies. The city is 'blazing a trail', as she modestly puts it during an interview in the presidential office, where she has ruled the Madrid region for almost six years. 'It is Spain's most fashionable region right now,' she said ahead of a speech on Monday at the Margaret Thatcher Conference in London. So far, so good for those who care to listen from Washington. However, while she has said she would continue to tow a pro-US line, she also wants to provide a safe haven for Latin American migrants, including many who have fled the political and economic decline of Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, its Bolivarian socialist leader. 'We are the new Miami, an open door between Europe and the American continent where people come not only to find work but to bring their business and families – it's our version of the American dream,' Ms Ayuso said. Last year, most European economies stagnated, but Spain's grew by 3.2 per cent, prompting the government to raise its 2025 growth forecast to 2.6 per cent. The primary factors were mass migration and tourists keeping Spain the world's second most-visited country. Strong growth meant half a million new jobs were added to a record 21.3 million people in employment in 2024, 13.5 per cent of whom were migrants. Madrid is leading the pack. The region Ms Ayuso presides over has overtaken Catalonia to become Spain's biggest regional economy, raking in more than 70 per cent of foreign investment in Spain last year. 'There is unprecedented international investment and global interest in Madrid,' she told The Telegraph, attributing the region's success to her Thatcherite policies of low taxation and removing barriers to enterprise. The 46-year-old conservative firebrand is widely tipped to become Spain's first female prime minister, although she denies such lofty ambitions and pledges loyalty to the current leadership of Spain's People's Party (PP). It is Ms Ayuso who noisily goes head to head with Pedro Sánchez, Spain's Left-wing prime minister, rather than Alberto Núnez Feijóo, the mild-mannered PP leader. The president of the Madrid region contrasts the success of her economically liberal and socially laissez-faire Madrid with what she describes as an 'obsession' with wokery from the socialist-led national government. Spain's regions can apply their own regional taxes on wealth and economic activity, but in 2021 Ms Ayuso announced that she had decided to scrap the lot. One of the last to go was a tax on the installation of gaming machines in bars. 'Madrid is the only place in Spain without its own regional taxes. We have applied low taxation, the right level of taxation. Madrid is the most competitive region, with the most digital employment and highest salaries, and the greatest openness to investment.' Income tax in Madrid is the lowest in Spain across most earnings bands, thanks to a series of cuts made by Ms Ayuso's administration to its regional rates, which are applied on top of national basic levels. By way of contrast, she claimed that Mr Sánchez's governments, backed by hard-Left parties, including Catalan and Basque separatists, have raised taxes 93 times since the socialist leader took power in 2018. Margaret Thatcher is Ms Ayuso's role model in creating a liberalised economy where individuals flourish. But she is quick to deny having radical desires to take a Musk-style chainsaw to the public sector. She insists she is a 'Spanish liberal', suggesting society and state must play some role – or risk chaos. Ms Ayuso welcomed Javier Milei, Argentina's maverick president, to Madrid last year but she says there are significant differences in their political visions. Mr Milei has said that the concept of the state and taxation in general is 'immoral'. Turning to today's trans-Atlantic relations, the Madrid leader expressed concern that tension between the Trump administration and other Western governments could cause a damaging split, as well as a worry that Ukraine will not get the peace deal it deserves. 'International leaders – and I mean all of them – need to apply more diplomacy and less testosterone to resolve this situation. But we mustn't forget that this was an invasion and we need to help Ukraine recover as quickly as possible. 'The lifestyle and values of the West cannot be broken apart in two weeks or a month like a house of cards. I refuse to accept that after centuries together, and especially after building the European Union, the West could fragment after a few weeks of heated rhetoric.' She adds: 'My Madrid government is always pro-US, Nato, EU and especially pro-West. I am a total admirer of Reagan. Whenever I saw the US flag, I always thought these are my people.' She is in good company with Mr Trump and Mr Milei, both of whom have clashed with Mr Sánchez. Ms Ayuso believes Mr Sánchez's government is bent on telling people how to live, with further regulations on unhealthy food, and even whether you can have a pet, including a new qualification that would be required of dog owners. 'These laws go way beyond the normal sphere of government. There is a move toward judging people according to what you eat, what you wear, whether you are the right kind of man, the right kind of woman… They don't respect the space of the individual.' Over the past year, Ms Ayuso's conflict with Mr Sánchez's national government has reached a new level after media revelations that Alberto González Amador, her partner, was being investigated by a Madrid court for alleged tax evasion. Ms Ayuso and her team have argued that the case was deliberately leaked by Spain's attorney general, who is now himself the subject of a court probe for allegedly revealing secrets. 'There is a concerted state operation against me. The tax office opened an inspection against my partner, when he was not my partner, and what should have just ended up as a fine has now been a national issue for a year, fuelled by media outlets that are fed directly by government ministries.' Ms Ayuso accused Mr Sánchez of using the case involving Mr González Amador to deflect from the fact that the prime minister's wife and brother are both being investigated for alleged corruption. 'They generate hatred to bolster their support. These cases are not comparable. My partner did not come to the table to do business like the wife of the prime minister. I have not used my position to benefit my partner with a single contract.' Alleging a dirty tricks campaign by Spain's government, Ms Ayuso claimed that the recent robbery of a computer belonging to her partner's lawyer was 'not done by amateurs' and that the homes of friends and family had also been broken into. 'Watergate was a joke compared to this. Nixon was a good president with an international reputation, so it's wrong to compare him with Sánchez.' Turning back to her home city, the 'new Miami', she points out that it will next year host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix and see another influx of visitors when Spain co-hosts the 2030 men's football World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. 'Madrid is the defence of freedom in all its forms. We saw this during the pandemic, and now in everyday life; the streets are buzzing, day and night, and everyone can find the lifestyle they want.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Madrid's ‘Margaret Thatcher': Let's take the testosterone out of politics
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the conservative leader of Madrid, has much in common with Donald Trump and indeed many of the Right-wing leaders shaping world politics. But there is a noticeable difference that sets her apart: her openness to mass migration. Madrid is having a major moment, topping the charts for economic growth and investment amid a mammoth tourism boom fuelled by her low-tax, business-friendly policies. The city is 'blazing a trail', as she modestly puts it during an interview in the presidential office, where she has ruled the Madrid region for almost six years. 'It is Spain's most fashionable region right now,' she said ahead of a speech on Monday at the Margaret Thatcher Conference in London. So far, so good for those who care to listen from Washington. However, while she has said she would continue to tow a pro-US line, she also wants to provide a safe haven for Latin American migrants, including many who have fled the political and economic decline of Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, its Bolivarian socialist leader. ' We are the new Miami, an open door between Europe and the American continent where people come not only to find work but to bring their business and families – it's our version of the American dream,' Ms Ayuso said. Last year, most European economies stagnated, but Spain's grew by 3.2 per cent, prompting the government to raise its 2025 growth forecast to 2.6 per cent. The primary factors were mass migration and tourists keeping Spain the world's second most-visited country. Strong growth meant half a million new jobs were added to a record 21.3 million people in employment in 2024, 13.5 per cent of whom were migrants. Madrid is leading the pack. The region Ms Ayuso presides over has overtaken Catalonia to become Spain's biggest regional economy, raking in more than 70 per cent of foreign investment in Spain last year. 'There is unprecedented international investment and global interest in Madrid,' she told The Telegraph, attributing the region's success to her Thatcherite policies of low taxation and removing barriers to enterprise. The 46-year-old conservative firebrand is widely tipped to become Spain's first female prime minister, although she denies such lofty ambitions and pledges loyalty to the current leadership of Spain's People's Party (PP). It is Ms Ayuso who noisily goes head to head with Pedro Sánchez, Spain's Left-wing prime minister, rather than Alberto Núnez Feijóo, the mild-mannered PP leader. The president of the Madrid region contrasts the success of her economically liberal and socially laissez-faire Madrid with what she describes as an 'obsession' with wokery from the socialist-led national government. Spain's regions can apply their own regional taxes on wealth and economic activity, but in 2021 Ms Ayuso announced that she had decided to scrap the lot. One of the last to go was a tax on the installation of gaming machines in bars. 'Madrid is the only place in Spain without its own regional taxes. We have applied low taxation, the right level of taxation. Madrid is the most competitive region, with the most digital employment and highest salaries, and the greatest openness to investment.' Income tax in Madrid is the lowest in Spain across most earnings bands, thanks to a series of cuts made by Ms Ayuso's administration to its regional rates, which are applied on top of national basic levels. By way of contrast, she claimed that Mr Sánchez's governments, backed by hard-Left parties, including Catalan and Basque separatists, have raised taxes 93 times since the socialist leader took power in 2018. Margaret Thatcher is Ms Ayuso's role model in creating a liberalised economy where individuals flourish. But she is quick to deny having radical desires to take a Musk-style chainsaw to the public sector. She insists she is a 'Spanish liberal', suggesting society and state must play some role – or risk chaos. Ms Ayuso welcomed Javier Milei, Argentina's maverick president, to Madrid last year but she says there are significant differences in their political visions. Mr Milei has said that the concept of the state and taxation in general is 'immoral'. Turning to today's trans-Atlantic relations, the Madrid leader expressed concern that tension between the Trump administration and other Western governments could cause a damaging split, as well as a worry that Ukraine will not get the peace deal it deserves. 'International leaders – and I mean all of them – need to apply more diplomacy and less testosterone to resolve this situation. But we mustn't forget that this was an invasion and we need to help Ukraine recover as quickly as possible. 'The lifestyle and values of the West cannot be broken apart in two weeks or a month like a house of cards. I refuse to accept that after centuries together, and especially after building the European Union, the West could fragment after a few weeks of heated rhetoric.' She adds: 'My Madrid government is always pro-US, Nato, EU and especially pro-West. I am a total admirer of Reagan. Whenever I saw the US flag, I always thought these are my people.' She is in good company with Mr Trump and Mr Milei, both of whom have clashed with Mr Sánchez. Ms Ayuso believes Mr Sánchez's government is bent on telling people how to live, with further regulations on unhealthy food, and even whether you can have a pet, including a new qualification that would be required of dog owners. 'These laws go way beyond the normal sphere of government. There is a move toward judging people according to what you eat, what you wear, whether you are the right kind of man, the right kind of woman… They don't respect the space of the individual.' Over the past year, Ms Ayuso's conflict with Mr Sánchez's national government has reached a new level after media revelations that Alberto González Amador, her partner, was being investigated by a Madrid court for alleged tax evasion. Ms Ayuso and her team have argued that the case was deliberately leaked by Spain's attorney general, who is now himself the subject of a court probe for allegedly revealing secrets. 'There is a concerted state operation against me. The tax office opened an inspection against my partner, when he was not my partner, and what should have just ended up as a fine has now been a national issue for a year, fuelled by media outlets that are fed directly by government ministries.' Ms Ayuso accused Mr Sánchez of using the case involving Mr González Amador to deflect from the fact that the prime minister's wife and brother are both being investigated for alleged corruption. 'They generate hatred to bolster their support. These cases are not comparable. My partner did not come to the table to do business like the wife of the prime minister. I have not used my position to benefit my partner with a single contract.' Alleging a dirty tricks campaign by Spain's government, Ms Ayuso claimed that the recent robbery of a computer belonging to her partner's lawyer was 'not done by amateurs' and that the homes of friends and family had also been broken into. 'Watergate was a joke compared to this. Nixon was a good president with an international reputation, so it's wrong to compare him with Sánchez.' Turning back to her home city, the 'new Miami', she points out that it will next year host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix and see another influx of visitors when Spain co-hosts the 2030 men's football World Cup with Portugal and Morocco. ' Madrid is the defence of freedom in all its forms. We saw this during the pandemic, and now in everyday life; the streets are buzzing, day and night, and everyone can find the lifestyle they want.'
