The four Conservative leadership contenders can’t afford a Conference speech slip of the tongue
Giles Dilnot
“I’m referring to accidental slips of the tongue at a key moment. The powerful rhetoric that rewrites itself wrongly. The inadvertent switch from gift-of-the-gab to gift of a gaffe.”
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Starmer cannot sell a shining city in the shadow of the valley of death
Henry Hill
“Every politician dresses up pain today as the price of a better tomorrow – but voters need to see how you get to the sunlit uplands, and the Prime Minister seems not to know.”
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How can we avoid having to do all of this all over again in two years’ time?
William Atkinson
“Why would a leader face a no-confidence vote, or resign of their own volition? Leaving aside any hitherto unimagined scandals, there are two major reasons: a lack of MP support, or a failure to make progress against Labour.”
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Is the end of a sanctimonious Labour government wrapped up in its shameless start?
Daniel Hannan
“The PM believes that, while Tories who take gifts are sleazy, Labour is intrinsically moral. He has convinced himself that politics is not about trade-offs or clashing priorities, but whether the country is run by goodies or baddies.”
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Rebuilding a reputation for economic competence requires strong foundations and new arguments
David Gauke
“The economic debate in this country has drifted in a more social democratic direction in recent years and, if the centre-right is to revive, it needs to start winning at least some of the arguments”
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Labour is struggling, but there are four reasons that Conservatives cannot be complacent
Tim Bale
“Such comforting (but ultimately illusory) complacency was in evidence after an even more comprehensive defeat in May 1997. How did that turn out?”
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When it comes to the Conservative record on education, Labour aren’t telling the truth
Damian Hinds MP
“I’ve been heartened by people who have contacted me to say that want to challenge this lie. Labour loves the “blame the Tories” mantra – but this one won’t stick. And we can’t let it.”
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We’ll be letting ourselves down, not just Ukraine, if we wave from anything but total support
Andrew Mitchell MP
“Ukraine’s fight is our fight. Freedom and democracy are at stake. These are not abstract principles, but the principles that underpin the international order, the rock upon which the world’s – and our – security and prosperity rests..”
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Is the Council Tax discount for single-person households under threat?
Elliot Keck
“A single-person household will use council services far less than a multi-member household. It is reasonable for that to be acknowledged.”
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Is it time to think what and for whom Conference should really be for?
Giles Dilnot
“Reform of the party is on the agenda of whoever wins the leadership. The key is to really ask what is Conference for, and for whom, and I’m not convinced the party has always got the answer to either question right.”
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