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BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Welsh Conservatives: scrapping Senedd for the birds
Conservative supporters opposed to devolution have been told scrapping the Senedd is "for the birds" by the party's leader in Cardiff Tories gather in Llangollen, Denbighshire, this weekend with Darren Millar trying to navigate choppy waters and avoid big political hazards in his discontent with devolution - and Millar's stance on it - has spilled over in recent weeks as the party also struggles against the rising surge of Reform and dreadful recent he prepares for the party's spring conference, Millar has accused some of his critics of "hiding behind pseudonyms". Some grassroots members have been publicly critical of Millar's pro-devolution stance and what they see as an implication that any candidates for next year's Senedd election have to back it. A recent article on the website Conservative Home, written under a pen name, accused Millar of declaring "war" and ended with the words "Millar must go". Conservative Home is no random website or X account - it is the home of grassroots conservatism and is a platform the party hierarchy takes accused some of his critics of "hiding behind pseudonyms", but conceded there was a "diversity of views" and he gets people's frustrations with devolution."The devolution dividend that was promised to people back in 1999, they have not seen it," he said, speaking in his constituency office in Abergele."What we have got to do is make sure that we are given the opportunity to really transform people's lives with devolution."That is why they are frustrated. If they saw that dividend, if they saw what a Welsh Conservative government could do, reducing their taxes, delivering better public services, I think that would change the dynamic." He rejected the idea of abolishing the Senedd: "Frankly if you think you can unpick devolution in one part of the UK and leave it in place for others, like Scotland and Northern Ireland and the mayoralties in England, it's just for the birds."Millar said he was not stopping candidates from putting themselves forward, but anybody who wanted to stand should "support, represent and promote Welsh Conservative policy". Millar also said that the pro-devolution policy had been consistent for over two Welsh Conservatives have historically struggled to turn out their vote in Senedd elections because many traditional party supporters are sceptical of devolution in the first place.A YouGov poll of 2024 voters suggested more than 60% of those who had voted Conservative in Wales supported the abolition of the said, the party managed its best ever Senedd result in 2021, but three years later suffered a Welsh wipe-out at the general election. As he tries to keep a lid on grassroots anger, Millar's party is also at risk of being engulfed by the surge in support for from the Welsh election study suggests almost half of previous Tory voters have switched support to Nigel Farage's insisted voters had a choice between "a proper Conservative Party" or "people masquerading in sometimes a Conservative jacket, sometimes a hard left jacket".Polls suggest Reform is a serious contender to be the biggest party next May, but Millar predicted they would "melt under any kind of reasonable scrutiny of their policies - when they do bring them forward - because they do not appear to have any". He was also critical of Reform's decision not to appoint a Welsh leader, although neither that nor a lack of Wales-specific plans appears to be doing Reform any harm in the of the parties are likely to get close to a majority next May, but even if they do manage only 13% of the vote - as the most recent poll suggested - the Welsh Conservatives could still theoretically find themselves as part of a post-election said it was "in the national interest" to end 26 years of Labour-led government in Cardiff Bay and that he would "work with anybody to make sure that happens".In that scenario there might again be grumblings from within. Some of his grassroots would be horrified by any agreement with Plaid Cymru, whose ultimate goal of Welsh independence is an existential threat to the United Kingdom, or with Reform, which is an existential threat to the view of Tory party leader Kemi Badenoch could also come into play after she ruled out a "national" Westminster pact with Reform, but refused to be drawn last month on any Senedd will give a speech on Saturday, his first to a conference since becoming Tory Senedd leader just over five months has not got that much longer to plot a course to electoral success.
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Calling the rape gangs a ‘dog whistle' issue is utterly disgraceful
It's when under pressure that people reveal what they think and who they truly are – and Labour's Lucy Powell was clearly feeling the heat on the BBC's Any Questions this week. When journalist Tim Montgomerie (full disclosure: the founder of ConservativeHome, where I work) made a reasonable point about the dangers of allowing oversensitivity to community cohesion to trump things like child protection, as it had in places such as Rotherham, Powell said this: 'Oh, you want to blow that little trumpet now, do you? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we, yeah?' Perhaps, like Sir Keir Starmer, she would have been more comfortable talking about Adolescence, the recent smash-hit fictional drama about a crime which, as seen in the show, has never taken place. The Prime Minister spent weeks happily playing an unpaid role in Netflix's publicity campaign, referring to the series as a 'documentary' and calling for it to be shown in schools. Yet he refused to be interviewed for Channel 4's actual documentary Groomed: A National Scandal, nor has he even confirmed he watched it. Powell is not some random backbencher. As Leader of the House of Commons, she's an important minister in this Labour Government. But perhaps therefore her outburst should not surprise us, for Starmer's ministers have given no impression so much as that they just wish the rape gangs scandal would go away. Why else would they be fighting tooth and nail against calls for a proper national enquiry? Or more targeted investigations such as into specific allegations of collusions between the gangs and local police forces, as called for by Conservative MP Nick Timothy. Politicians normally love holding inquiries. In this country they're so slow and so expensive that they've become the preferred way for ministers to look like they're taking action whilst kicking an issue into the long grass. Not here though. Labour insists that the existing inquiries have been sufficient. But again, Powell showed what they really think: the case Montgomerie was making on any questions, which she dismissed as a 'dog whistle'? Literally just the conclusions of the 2014 Jay Report. It isn't difficult to see why the Government is acting this way. Just look at Thursday's local election results, which saw sectarian Muslim candidate taking council seats in Labour heartlands. Or the last general election, where four 'Gaza independents' were elected and senior figures such as Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips almost lost their seats. The Labour Party has until recently been happy to have this bloc inside the tent, and is frightened of the electoral consequences of losing it. If keeping such voters happy means suppressing an inquiry into the rape gangs – or selecting MPs more interested in a new airport in Mirpur than rubbish piling up on the streets in their own constituencies – then so be it. Perhaps there is also an element of straightforward denial, too. If you built your entire politics on the idea that Britain is an integration success story and only bad people would attack our 'diverse communities', as have politicians like Powell, you too would be very wary of collecting the evidence. She herself is probably doomed, if for no other reason that this row means the nation is once again talking about Rotherham. But the Government's actions – or inactions – speak louder than words, and it's clear that Powell has only said what other ministers are content merely to think.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Calling the rape gangs a ‘dog whistle' issue is utterly disgraceful
It's when under pressure that people reveal what they think and who they truly are – and Labour's Lucy Powell was clearly feeling the heat on the BBC's Any Questions this week. When journalist Tim Montgomerie (full disclosure: the founder of ConservativeHome, where I work) made a reasonable point about the dangers of allowing oversensitivity to community cohesion to trump things like child protection, as it had in places such as Rotherham, Powell said this: 'Oh, you want to blow that little trumpet now, do you? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we, yeah?' Perhaps, like Sir Keir Starmer, she would have been more comfortable talking about Adolescence, the recent smash-hit fictional drama about a crime which, as seen in the show, has never taken place. The Prime Minister spent weeks happily playing an unpaid role in Netflix's publicity campaign, referring to the series as a 'documentary' and calling for it to be shown in schools. Yet he refused to be interviewed for Channel 4's actual documentary Groomed: A National Scandal, nor has he even confirmed he watched it. Powell is not some random backbencher. As Leader of the House of Commons, she's an important minister in this Labour Government. But perhaps therefore her outburst should not surprise us, for Starmer's ministers have given no impression so much as that they just wish the rape gangs scandal would go away. Why else would they be fighting tooth and nail against calls for a proper national enquiry? Or more targeted investigations such as into specific allegations of collusions between the gangs and local police forces, as called for by Conservative MP Nick Timothy. Politicians normally love holding inquiries. In this country they're so slow and so expensive that they've become the preferred way for ministers to look like they're taking action whilst kicking an issue into the long grass. Not here though. Labour insists that the existing inquiries have been sufficient. But again, Powell showed what they really think: the case Montgomerie was making on any questions, which she dismissed as a 'dog whistle'? Literally just the conclusions of the 2014 Jay Report. It isn't difficult to see why the Government is acting this way. Just look at Thursday's local election results, which saw sectarian Muslim candidate taking council seats in Labour heartlands. Or the last general election, where four 'Gaza independents' were elected and senior figures such as Wes Streeting and Jess Phillips almost lost their seats. The Labour Party has until recently been happy to have this bloc inside the tent, and is frightened of the electoral consequences of losing it. If keeping such voters happy means suppressing an inquiry into the rape gangs – or selecting MPs more interested in a new airport in Mirpur than rubbish piling up on the streets in their own constituencies – then so be it. Perhaps there is also an element of straightforward denial, too. If you built your entire politics on the idea that Britain is an integration success story and only bad people would attack our 'diverse communities', as have politicians like Powell, you too would be very wary of collecting the evidence. She herself is probably doomed, if for no other reason that this row means the nation is once again talking about Rotherham. But the Government's actions – or inactions – speak louder than words, and it's clear that Powell has only said what other ministers are content merely to think. 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.
Spectator
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
The ugly truth about Lucy Powell's grooming gangs comments
This week Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, did something unusual for a politician: she spoke from the heart. Her dismissal of the rape gangs as a 'dog whistle' was no gaffe. It was not a 'blunder'. It was a brutally honest expression of the government's exasperation with this pesky scandal. It was savagely candid, pulling back the curtain on Labour's gross and haughty indifference to this outrage in which thousands of working-class girls suffered the most unspeakable abuse. It was on Any Questions that Powell gave voice to her party's elitist vexation with all the public blather about rape gangs. Tim Montgomerie, the founder of Conservative Home who now aligns himself with Reform, asked her if she had watched Groomed: A National Scandal, the brilliant Channel 4 documentary about five women who endured horrific exploitation at the hands of these gangs.
Spectator
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Is Robert Jenrick on manoeuvres?
Despite this being the week that Kemi Badenoch finally showed some steel in PMQs, it's Robert Jenrick who has been stealing the headlines. That's for lots of reasons – mainly his comments about a potential Tory Reform pact, which he clarified on Good Morning Britain this morning, saying: 'Kemi Badenoch and I are on exactly the same page. Kemi has been very clear there won't be a pact with Reform, and I've said time and again that I want to put Reform out of business. I want to send Nigel Farage back to retirement.' This follows leaked footage which surfaced this week from a student event in late March, where he appeared to suggest that he would back a pact to join forces with Farage. Elsewhere, he had a big win when Yvette Cooper announced that the government will publish migrant crime league tables – a policy he has pushed for. Is he the prince across the water? Or do we need to give Kemi a break? Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Henry Hill, deputy editor at Conservative Home. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
