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Party conference will be more upbeat than last year, Tories say – but that’s not the whole story
Source: The Guardian
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Conservatives claim ‘major victory’ as Tory conference begins after Labour scraps plans to curb jury trials – UK politics live
Shadow justice secretary says despite U-turn Labour are still ‘restricting juries by the back door’, as Conservative conference begins in Birmingham Good morning. Anthony Seldon recently published the latest in his long and invaluable series of inside stories of premierships, Sunak at 10 , and he gave it the subtitle “The last Conservative prime minister?” When the book was being planned in the early days of Kemi Badenoch’s leadership of the Conservative party, it did look as though the Tories might be finished as a party of government. But now Seldon, and his co-author Tom Egerton , aren’t so sure. Their book concludes: “At the time of writing in July 2026 … the Tory party still needs to engage in a process of deep-self reflection to understand why it failed in government, and tore itself so destructively apart, if it is ever to regain power. But at this point in time we believe it is u
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Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
FOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as survey highlights many fire services lack proper protective gear The government quietly scrapped plans to prepare the countryside in England for wildfires, it has been revealed. This was despite new data showing fire crews do not have the proper protective gear to tackle them. This summer has been a potent reminder of the scale of the threat posed by the climate crisis, with the UK experiencing record-breaking wildfires after punishingly hot and dry weather turned large parts of the countryside into a tinderbox. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Ninety years on, the lessons of the antifascist battle of Cable Street have never felt more relevant | Sarah Sackman
With sectarian forces increasingly seeking to divide us, we must come together to fight for security, fairness and tolerance Sarah Sackman is the Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green “ No pasarán !” – they shall not pass. It’s the rallying cry that strikes at the core of my identity. The same anti-fascist slogan heard by my Spanish grandmother, who endured the horrors of that country’s civil war, echoed in London where my Jewish paternal grandparents lived. Ninety years ago, it was this cry that united tens of thousands of East Enders, who stood tall against Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts at the battle of Cable Street . The story is well known. In 1936, disparate communities came together to block the far right from marching – Jewish residents, Irish dockers, Somali seamen, trade unionists, independent socialists and communists alike. Sarah Sackman is the Labour MP for Finchley and Gold
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Tories pledge to remove £100,000 childcare 'cliff edge'
Party leader Kemi Badenoch tells the BBC that she wants to see "people who work harder" not getting punished for doing so.
BBC Politics
Burnham scraps controversial plans to curb jury trials
The key policy idea announced by David Lammy when he was justice secretary will no longer go ahead.
The Guardian
Tories would expand free childcare to high earners, Badenoch says
Kemi Badenoch says those earning more than £100,000 should not be discouraged from working more The Conservatives have unveiled a proposed £700m childcare giveaway for high earners ahead of their annual conference, saying they would end the “cliff edge” where free entitlement ends at salaries above £100,000. The plan, set out the day before the event begins in Birmingham, follows the earlier proposal by Kemi Badenoch’s party to abolish most stamp duty , another change to taxation that would disproportionately benefit wealthier people. Continue reading...