Latest news with #SirMelStride
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Even Kemi Badenoch's closest allies admit she needs to get better - but she may be running out of time
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride had intended to talk about one failed female Tory leader with his keynote speech in London on Thursday morning - but ended up discussing another instead. Sir Mel had intended to apologise about Liz Truss ' mini-Budget and set a new economic path back to recovery for the Conservative Party. But he ended up providing some less than helpful comments about his current leader Kemi Badenoch. The problem was that the remarks he made were unsolicited. He was asked by a journalist whether the leadership election rules should be changed to prevent someone like Ms Truss becoming leader again. But instead, he took the opportunity to say some things about his current, much under fire, leader Ms Badenoch. He said: 'She will get better through time. At the media she will get better through time and at the dispatch box. Just as Margaret Thatcher, when she became [party leader] she was a new broom in 1975 and was often criticised about everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice, her head, who knows what else. In the end, she got it together, and Kemi will do.' He insisted the shadow cabinet was 'all united' behind her - a statement that is patently not true. It was an astonishing admission. His intention was probably to be helpful, but he just confirmed what everyone else was thinking; that his leader was a poor performer on the media, doing badly in the Commons chamber, and was essentially not up to the job at the moment. To liken it to the mid-1970s - when there was no social media nor a party like Reform UK competing on the right - was, as the old saying goes, comparing apples with oranges. Speaking at the Royal Academy of Arts, Sir Mel could not have painted a more vivid picture of Tory dysfunction. But let us be frank. His faint praise, if it was as nice as that, summed up the consensus within the party. In fact, it is hard to find a Conservative MP or activist who will say privately that their leader is doing a great job. One shadow minister this week told The Independent that many of them have 'resorted to gallows humour' to keep their spirits up. One of the few new Tory MPs complained that they could 'count the number of seconds on their fingers' that Ms Badenoch had spoken to them since becoming leader. Added to that she is being constantly outshone at every turn by her former leadership rival shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, not least with his video stunts. The recent one catching fare dodgers at Stratford tube station was planned by Mr Jenrick's team before with no reference to the leader. Ms Badenoch's own video meeting grooming gang victims was completely overshadowed by Mr Jenrick chasing non-payers down Transport for London (TfL) escalators. The constant criticism is that her lack of policies and charisma are seeing the party's support collapse in the face of Nigel Farage and Reform. The reality is that while none of the MPs can work out how to force Ms Badenoch out, they are all preparing for a potential leadership election for a replacement. Mr Jenrick is now the frontrunner but it was no coincidence that former foreign and home secretary Sir James Cleverly has been giving interviews offering an alternative vision for left-leaning Tories. Sir Mel wants a period of 'thoughtfulness' to work out policy and give Ms Badenoch time to find her feet. In the fast moving nature of 2025 politics, Ms Badenoch may not have much time left to prove herself.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Liz Truss was 'right' to be radical, but the numbers need to 'add up', shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride tells Sky News
Former prime minister Liz Truss was right to be radical, but the numbers need to "add up", the Conservative shadow chancellor has told Sky News. Sir Mel Stride said the 49-day prime minister was "absolutely right" to recognise that "radicalism" is needed to grow the UK economy, "particularly in a more dangerous world", but that it needed to be "delivered in the right way". He was speaking after delivering a major speech in which he sought to put vast distance between the Conservative Party of today, and the consequences of the mini-budget in September 2022 that sent inflation and interest rates soaring. In blunt criticism of his party's former leader, Sir Mel vowed they would "never again" repeat the "mistakes" that she made, saying she "put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected". "The credibility of the UK's economic framework was undermined by spending billions on subsidising energy bills, and tax cuts, with no proper plan for how this would be paid for," he said. "As a Conservative, of course I want taxes to be as low as possible. But that must be achieved responsibly through fiscal discipline." He said the mistakes in the mini-budget were rapidly "recognised" by the party's MPs, and stability was restored "within weeks" - but he acknowledged the lasting "damage" to their credibility. Sir Mel said: "Let me be clear: never again will the Conservative Party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford." 2:55 We need 'responsible radicalism' Asked by Sky News after her speech what Ms Truss - who was elected by his party's members as leader, and therefore, prime minister - if he thinks she did anything right during her historically short tenure, the shadow chancellor argued that the "radicalism" she displayed is what is needed. He said: "What is absolutely right is to recognise that the status quo, for the reasons I've given, is no longer tenable, particularly in a more dangerous world." He pointed to Russia, China, and the Korean peninsula as areas where the world is less stable, as well as the "disengagement of America from European security to at least some degree" - all of which will require more spending on defence. "That needs a much more strongly growing economy, or we are going to start slipping further and further behind, and we are going to become more fragile and more vulnerable. And I think a recognition of that is absolutely right." But he continued: "There is a way about doing it, and it has to have, at its heart, fiscal responsibility. It has to have an offer, it has to have something that the markets look at where the numbers add up. "So we need to have responsible radicalism. We certainly need the radicalism, but it's got to be delivered in the right way," he added. 9:59 Truss and Stride trade barbs Ahead of the speech, Ms Truss attacked Sir Mel, labelling him a "creature of the system" who "sides with the failed treasury orthodoxy". Asked for his response by the Bank of England's former chief economist Andy Haldane, who was moderating the session, Sir Mel quipped: "Whatever happened to her?" He went to suggest she did not have a "credible fiscal policy" which saw her "los[ing] control of the economy". He added: "The overriding message I bring to you today is: yes, we have made mistakes in the past, but we won't ever, ever repeat them." Labour and Reform a 'threat to our economy' Sir Mel was also intensely critical of Labour and Reform, labelling them a "clear and present threat to our economy". "Only Kemi Badenoch, and the Conservatives, have spoken up for taxpayers and the public finances.," he argued. "Defending the two-child cap, pushing Labour to be bolder on welfare reform. And we must demonstrate that we will be responsible." In response to the speech, a Labour Party spokesperson said the Tories have "spent the last six months making billions of pounds of unfunded spending commitments and promoting Liz Truss's disastrous top team". "The Tories inflicted mortgage misery and sky-high bills on working people. Their weasel words can't change that fact, and their unfunded plans show they will do it all over again. They haven't changed."
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Badenoch ‘will get better', says Stride as Tories' polling woes continue
Kemi Badenoch 'will get better', one of her senior shadow ministers has said as the Conservative leader continues to languish in the polls. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride insisted Mrs Badenoch is 'the person to lead us' as he answered questions following a speech on Thursday. He said: 'She will get better through time at the media, she will get better through time at the dispatch box at PMQs. 'Just as Margaret Thatcher when she became leader in 75 was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice to heaven knows what else – in the end she got it together and Kemi will do absolutely that.' Mrs Badenoch has faced a challenging time since taking over the Tory leadership last November. Her party continues to poll in third place behind Reform UK and Labour, with a YouGov poll published on Wednesday showing the Conservatives on 18%, just one point ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Mrs Badenoch's own favourability ratings have also fallen since she became party leader, reaching minus 27% according to a More in Common poll carried out last weekend. Meanwhile, former leadership contender Sir James Cleverly appeared to split from Mrs Badenoch on the environment in a speech on Wednesday evening, urging his party to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine'. The Conservative leader has described herself as a 'net zero sceptic' and launched her party's policy renewal process in March by arguing it is 'impossible' to reach net zero by 2050. In his remarks on Thursday, Sir Mel said Mrs Badenoch is 'leading a shadow cabinet that is united'. He added: 'Our party has not been united in that way for a very long time, and she is going to drive through the process – with me and others – so that we come to the right conclusion.' Sir Mel's remarks followed a speech in which he sought to distance the Conservatives from Lis Truss's mini-budget, saying the party needs to show 'contrition' to restore its economic credibility. In a furious response, Ms Truss accused Sir Mel of having 'kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy' and being 'set on undermining my plan for growth'. Calling for a 'bold rewiring' of the economy, Sir Mel argued both Conservative and Labour governments in recent decades had failed to secure economic growth and improve living standards. He went on to attack Labour and Reform UK, saying Chancellor Rachel Reeves is 'fiddling the figures' and basing all her spending on borrowing, while claiming Nigel Farage's economic plan 'doubles down on the 'magic money tree' we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn'. In response, Labour accused Sir Mel of failing to properly apologise for the mini-budget. A party spokesman said: 'Kemi Badenoch has spent the last six months making billions of pounds of unfunded spending commitments and promoting Liz Truss's disastrous top team. 'The Tories inflicted mortgage misery and sky-high bills on working people. Their weasel words can't change that fact, and their unfunded plans show they will do it all over again. They haven't changed.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Badenoch ‘will get better as Tory leader as Thatcher did'
Kemi Badenoch will 'get better' as the Tory leader just as Margaret Thatcher did, the shadow chancellor said. As questions about Mrs Badenoch's leadership mount amid dire poll ratings, Sir Mel Stride said the Conservative Party had chopped and changed leaders far too often. He pointed out that Thatcher was seen as a poor opposition leader for months after taking over from Edward Heath in 1975, but she ended up becoming a political force, winning three general elections between 1979 and 1987. Some recent polls have been disastrous for the Conservatives, with one last month seeing them slip to fourth place behind the Liberal Democrats. In a speech on Thursday morning, Sir Mel vowed that the Tories would 'never again' put the economy at risk as Liz Truss did with her mini-Budget. Asked about Mrs Badenoch's leadership, he said: 'There's no need to change leadership. We've had too many leaders, we've had too many prime ministers chop and change. 'If you look at the nature of the challenge and the approach to it that I've set out, she is the person to meet it. She will get better through time at the media, she will get better through time at the dispatch box at PMQs. 'Just as Margaret Thatcher, when she became leader in '75, was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore, to the pitch of her voice, to heaven knows what else, in the end she got it together. Kemi will do absolutely that.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Badenoch ‘will get better', says Stride as Tories' polling woes continue
Kemi Badenoch 'will get better', one of her senior shadow ministers has said as the Conservative leader continues to languish in the polls. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride insisted Mrs Badenoch is 'the person to lead us' as he answered questions following a speech on Thursday. He said: 'She will get better through time at the media, she will get better through time at the dispatch box at PMQs. 'Just as Margaret Thatcher when she became leader in 75 was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice to heaven knows what else – in the end she got it together and Kemi will do absolutely that.' Mrs Badenoch has faced a challenging time since taking over the Tory leadership last November. Her party continues to poll in third place behind Reform UK and Labour, with a YouGov poll published on Wednesday showing the Conservatives on 18%, just one point ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Mrs Badenoch's own favourability ratings have also fallen since she became party leader, reaching minus 27% according to a More in Common poll carried out last weekend. Meanwhile, former leadership contender Sir James Cleverly appeared to split from Mrs Badenoch on the environment in a speech on Wednesday evening, urging his party to reject climate change 'luddites' on the right who believe 'the way things are now is just fine'. The Conservative leader has described herself as a 'net zero sceptic' and launched her party's policy renewal process in March by arguing it is 'impossible' to reach net zero by 2050. In his remarks on Thursday, Sir Mel said Mrs Badenoch is 'leading a shadow cabinet that is united'. He added: 'Our party has not been united in that way for a very long time, and she is going to drive through the process – with me and others – so that we come to the right conclusion.' Sir Mel's remarks followed a speech in which he sought to distance the Conservatives from Lis Truss's mini-budget, saying the party needs to show 'contrition' to restore its economic credibility. In a furious response, Ms Truss accused Sir Mel of having 'kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy' and being 'set on undermining my plan for growth'. Calling for a 'bold rewiring' of the economy, Sir Mel argued both Conservative and Labour governments in recent decades had failed to secure economic growth and improve living standards. He went on to attack Labour and Reform UK, saying Chancellor Rachel Reeves is 'fiddling the figures' and basing all her spending on borrowing, while claiming Nigel Farage's economic plan 'doubles down on the 'magic money tree' we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn'. In response, Labour accused Sir Mel of failing to properly apologise for the mini-budget. A party spokesman said: 'Kemi Badenoch has spent the last six months making billions of pounds of unfunded spending commitments and promoting Liz Truss's disastrous top team. 'The Tories inflicted mortgage misery and sky-high bills on working people. Their weasel words can't change that fact, and their unfunded plans show they will do it all over again. They haven't changed.'
