Only by re-electing me, having delivered on my promises to you, can we save our stations.
A Westminister local, Barnes follows the common tendency towards ‘local champions’ in recent selections.
He will have to immediately stamp his authority on the party, prepare for coming European elections, hold a budget in the autumn, and ready his party for what will be a pivotal election in March next year.
It is a childish fantasy to suppose that defenestrating the PM would lead to success at the polls.
People are having fewer children than they want: 80 per cent of British women of childbearing age want at least two children, with an average number of desired children of 2.35 per woman – far above the current total fertility rate of 1.49.
The Opposition currently talks a big game on devolution and planning reform. But for their actions to meet the scale of the challenge, the prize, and their own rhetoric, they will need a new approach.
The Conservatives need first to address a real perception problem: voters in these seats are twice as likely to say they associate the words ‘divided’ and ‘uncaring’ with the Tories than with Labour.
In his resignation letter Halfon suggests there was “quiet admiration” for Sunak across the country.
A rolling list of those Tory MPs choosing not to contest their seats again.
If she really has the legal advice she claims, this damaging story should be easy to close down. If he can’t even make his own deputy show it to him, what does that say about his authority?
In January the Prime Minister honoured a long-standing Conservative manifesto commitment of establishing ‘votes for life’ to British nationals living overseas.
It can be transformative for young people, their families, their communities and – by creating a better skilled workforce – the wider economy too.
We will be told that Conservatives want other groups to bear the brunt of cuts in public spending whilst protecting Tory voters. It is hard both to be an advocate of a small state and of the Triple Lock.
The UK needs to be prepared for a possible reality in which the EU may be a more significant player in European defence and security.