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Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservative’s should view Reform UK supporters as “our people” as she appeals to the right of the party.
Speaking to GB News, the Tory leadership contender said the party made a “mistake” for not thinking “Many of the people who voted Reform were lifelong Tory voters.”
“I think one of the mistakes we made was making Reform voters think that they were not our people. They are our people,” she added.
She was also asked if she believed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is a Tory.
“I think that he is a disruptor. But he has said that he wants to destroy the Conservative party, so I think that’s probably a no,” she replied.
Ms Badenoch also drew criticism for claiming she “became working class” after getting a job at McDonald’s.
“I grew up in a middle-class family, but I became working class when I was 16 working in McDonald’s,” the former cabinet minister said.
Her suggestion soon went viral on social media, and has drawn criticism, including from Labour MP Chris Bryant.
“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” he wrote, responding to the clip.
Key Points
- Rwanda plan was worse than deporting convicts to Australia, says John Major
- Watch: Badenoch says she 'went from middle class to working class' after working at McDonald's
- David Lammy to talk security ties and Russian threats in trip to Norway
- Lady Starmer ‘accepted gift of Taylor Swift tickets'
- Emily Thornberry says she is ‘really concerned’ about deadly Lebanon pager attack
Covid-19 pupils and students ‘consigned to scrapheap’, minister claims
Secondary school pupils and students who started university during the Covid-19 pandemic have been “consigned to the scrapheap”, the employment minister has warned.
Alison McGovern vowed to set up a youth guarantee, a Labour general election manifesto pledge which she claimed would “transform the lives of young people”, speaking at the launch of a think tank report on employment support.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the number of young people out of work due to long-term sickness is up 29% since the pandemic, to around 237,000 from approximately 184,000 before the pandemic.
“The lockdown generation has been failed, consigned to the scrapheap, because they have been denied the support and opportunities to find work, get into work, and get on at work,” Ms McGovern said.
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 12:59 1726659806Dire Brexit EU trade figures could get even worse, warns expert
Dire Brexit EU trade figures could get even worse, warns expert
New research has proven that Brexit has damaged the UK’s trade but an expert has warned things could get worse with the new border checks system
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 12:43 1726658966Wes Streeting has said he can understand why pensioners may feel they are being targeted by the government following cuts to winter fuel payments.
In an interview with the New Statesman, the health secretary said: “I can understand why there will be some pensioners sat there thinking, ‘Well, why us? And what about others?’ Well, there are other choices to come and these aren’t just Rachel’s choices to face up to, these are the choices of the whole government.”
Labour is facing growing pressure over its planned winter fuel payment cuts as figures emerged showing almost 800,000 pensioners who need the benefit are set to lose out.
Read more here.
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 12:29 1726658186Watch: Ed Davey challenged to name 72 Lib Dem MPs while on roller coaster ride
Rachel Reeves commits to improving women’s lives by closing gender pay gap
Rachel Reeves has said she intends to use her position as the first female Chancellor to “improve life for women”, as she set out plans to support women in business.
Ms Reeves said it is a “huge responsibility” to head the Treasury and she is aiming to close the gender pay gap, strengthen rights at work and invest in childcare.
Announcing the Government’s support for the Invest in Women Taskforce, which aims to increase investment funding pools for female founders, the Chancellor vowed to improve the economic opportunities available to women.
The taskforce is aiming to create a funding pool of more than £250 million for female-founded businesses through private capital, making it one of the world’s largest investment funding pools aimed solely at female founders.
The Rose Review, an independent review of female entrepreneurship led by Dame Alison Rose, found that if the UK were to have the same share of female entrepreneurs as similar countries, £200 billion of value would be added to the economy.
Ms Reeves is expected to take an active role in steering the taskforce’s priorities and objectives.
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 11:46 1726655186Teachers will be allowed to work from home in Labour plan to boost recruitment
Teachers will be allowed to work from home in Labour plan to boost recruitment
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson hopes increased flexibility will stop women leaving teaching profession, it has been reported
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 11:26 1726654163Nick Read to step down as chief executive of Post Office next year
The Post Office chief executive is set to resign from his role amid a year dominated by the fallout from the Horizon scandal.
Nick Read, who is preparing to give evidence to the inquiry next month, will step down in March next year, the Post Office said on Wednesday.
My colleague Tara Cobham reports.
For context, Horizon IT system is accounting software, designed by Japanese company Fujitsu, which saw accounts automated after subpostmasters entered their sales figures via a touchscreen.
Due to faulty software, subpostmasters started experiencing unexplained shortfalls in their accounts and were liable for losses under their contract with the Post Office, with subpostmasters being ordered to pay back the money that was lost.
Read the full explainer on the Horizon scandal here.
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 11:09 1726653402Badenoch says return to McDonald’s after 24 years was a ‘surreal experience’ in resurfaced social media post
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 10:56 1726652846Watch: Ed Davey belts out 'Sweet Caroline' to finish Lib Dem conference
Government to hold talks on ending ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts
Angela Rayner is set to hold another round of talks with trade unions and business leaders as the Government continues its drive to end “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.
The Deputy Prime Minister and the Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will meet general secretaries from Britain’s major trade unions along with figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) on Wednesday afternoon as part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to expand workers’ rights.
The meeting is the latest in a series of discussions with unions and businesses on employment rights, with further such meetings expected over the coming weeks.
However, it is not expected that today’s meeting will come with a major announcement from the government.
There are around one million people across the UK on zero-hour contracts, according to the Office of National Statistics.
You can read more on the government’s “new deal for workers” here.
Jabed Ahmed18 September 2024 10:29 Newer1 / 7OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.