“As Labour reveals the face it hid from the public before the election, some Conservatives see the possibility of a faster political recovery. From lies about the economy to questionable appointments, putting up taxes to handing out cash to the unions, jeopardising energy security to surrendering to illegal immigration, reversing successful school reforms to cutting pensioners’ incomes, this is an awful government. We cannot kid ourselves, however, that what is bad for a party of government must be good for a party of opposition… The story of the election is that in most constituencies, voters chose to do whatever it took to kick us out…Even if Labour unpopularity did simply return us to power next time, we would still need an analysis of the country’s challenges…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Sir Keir Starmer’s government will crack on with its “packed legislative agenda”, a senior UK cabinet minister has pledged, as parliament returns on Monday after the shortest summer recess in decades. Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, said the prime minister and his cabinet were ready to “roll up our sleeves” in order to “build a better Britain” as MPs head back to Westminster following a one-month break. “This new Labour government is full of energy, full of ideas and full of drive to deliver our mandate for change. That’s why we’ve announced a packed legislative agenda focused on the people’s priorities,” she said. New legislation to be laid before the Commons this week will include one bill to bring rail operators gradually into public ownership…” – The Financial Times
“Ofsted’s one-word ratings of state schools are to be scrapped…Parents will no longer be told whether a school is outstanding, good, requiring improvement or inadequate overall…The system will be replaced by school “report cards” from September…although the change has been introduced so swiftly that their exact form has yet to be decided. The move follows lobbying by teaching unions, who claimed the single-word gradings were “simplistic, reductive, unreliable and inhumane” and demanded their abolition. Tories…accused the Government of bowing to unions again following…above-inflation public sector pay rises. They said the…grading was “a vital indicator”…and argued that its removal would mean schools would be less accountable…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Businesses face paying thousands of pounds in fines if they do not uphold new protections for employees introduced by Labour as part of its overhaul of workers’ rights. The Times has been told ministers are considering a warning system which would allow companies to make improvements before being hit with fines. But business leaders have called for small businesses to be exempt from any financial sanctions to prevent government “overreach” that would damage economic growth. The sanctions regime will be overseen by a new Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will bring together existing watchdogs into a single enforcement body for workers’ rights. It will have the power to bring prosecutions and issue fines…” – The Times
“Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has pledged to end “foot dragging” by developers and freeholders which means thousands remain living in buildings wrapped in unsafe cladding days before the publication of the final report into the Grenfell Tower disaster. The second phase of the public inquiry into the inferno which claimed 72 lives when it tore through the west London tower block in 2017 will this week publish its conclusions on how highly-flammable panels came to be affixed to the building, allowing the fire to spread with devastating speed…According to Government figures, remediation work has begun in only around half of the 4,630 buildings identified in England as having dangerous cladding similar to that used in Grenfell Tower.” – The i
“Ministers will examine surge ticket pricing in a review after the cost of tickets for Oasis’s concerts more than doubled while on sale, the culture secretary has confirmed. Lisa Nandy said she thought the inflated price of tickets was “incredibly depressing” as standard tickets were increased from £148 to £355 on the website Ticketmaster. The prices rose under its “dynamic pricing” mechanism, which means that the cost of tickets deemed to be “in demand” can be higher than initially advertised. The government had already planned to review the secondary ticket sales market, and pledged to bring in measures to stop fans being “ripped off” by touts… Labour promised to introduce “new consumer protections” on ticket resales in its election manifesto earlier this year.” – The Guardian
“Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly will formally launch their campaigns to become the next leader of the Conservatives on Monday as the main UK opposition party seeks to claw its way back from its worst election result in more than a century. Badenoch, business secretary in the last Tory government, will pledge “renewal” with an agenda of change, while Cleverly, who was home secretary, will call for a “family-first society” and vow to “remake the argument for capitalism”. The MPs are among six candidates vying to succeed Rishi Sunak…after the devastating defeat in July’s election saw Labour win a big majority as the Conservatives shrank from 365 MPs in 2019 to 121 MPs … Badenoch, a former associate director at private bank Coutts, was elected to parliament in 2017…” – The Financial Times
>Today:
“Conservative leadership contender James Cleverly has said he wants to abolish stamp duty on all homes. Writing for The Telegraph, the former home secretary called for the “bad tax” to be eventually scrapped for all buyers of residential properties, in order to get more people on the housing ladder. The leadership contest he is fighting is set to intensify this week. The first round of voting by MPs takes place on Wednesday and one candidate will be eliminated. Mr Cleverly’s vow to cut stamp duty comes with tax increases expected in the Budget in October. Currently, stamp duty must be paid on homes worth more than £250,000, or £425,000 for first-time buyers. The rate gradually tapers up, from 5 per cent to 12 per cent for the most expensive properties.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
“Kemi Badenoch has said that “Doctor Who” won’t make her “shut up” as she announced a date for the launch of her Conservative Party leadership campaign. Mrs Badenoch, the Tory MP for North West Essex, shared a clip on X, formely Twitter, revealing that she will kick off the campaign on Monday. An accompanying teaser video references comments made by David Tennant, the Doctor Who actor, after the pair became embroiled in a row earlier this year. Collecting an award for his support for the transgender community, Tennant told the British LGBT Awards ceremony that he wished Mrs Badenoch would “shut up”…Collecting an award for his support for the transgender community, Tennant told the British LGBT Awards ceremony that he wished Mrs Badenoch would “shut up”.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Protecting single-sex spaces is not top of the agenda for 90 per cent of people, Robert Jenrick has suggested, as he warned the Conservatives could not be a one-issue party if they want to win back votes. The Tory leadership contender told an event for young Conservatives that he did not want his party to “go down a rabbit hole of culture wars” as he said the public were more worried about the cost of living and public services than gender issues. Jenrick, who was addressing an online meeting of young Conservative members of the Blue Beyond group on August 19, said it was an issue he was personally worried about but to win back voters, especially from the Liberal Democrats, the Tories need to be a “full spectrum” party.” – The Times
“Scottish Tory members are “angry” at the party hierarchy for ousting a former minister as an election candidate and allowing Douglas Ross to stand instead, a leadership contender has claimed. Murdo Fraser said that the party grassroots were “crying out for change” and that they had expressed fury to him over the fiasco in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, which the Conservatives lost to the SNP in July. During the election campaign, David Duguid, the Tory incumbent in the seat, was sick in hospital with a serious spinal illness and was replaced by Mr Ross, breaking the Scottish leader’s pledge to quit Westminster to focus on Holyrood. Mr Ross quit as leader following a backlash. The contest to replace him has been marred by bitter in-fighting…” – The Daily Telegraph
“Reform UK is taking inspiration from the success of right-wing movements in Germany and France as it sets up more than a hundred local branches to target Labour-held seats. Senior figures in the party believe Nigel Farage can become the prime minister after the next general election by targeting disillusioned voters on the left and right in the style of Boris Johnson’s victory in 2019. The party is encouraged by how voters are moving to the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France. The AfD overtook the governing SPD to become the second most popular party in Germany in July last year with about 20 per cent of support, which is double the amount the party had in 2022.” – The Times
“John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, on Sunday urged members of the Scottish National party to “awaken optimism” and unite for independence as he accused Labour of delivering the “same damaging austerity as the Tories”. In the closing address of the SNP’s annual conference, Swinney sought to galvanise the party faithful ahead of the May 2026 Holyrood elections after an “incredibly tough night” at the July 4 general election, when Scotland’s governing party shrank from 48 seats to nine in the House of Commons. “It falls on us — the national party of Scotland — to awaken that sense of optimism and hope among our fellow Scots,” he said at the conference in Edinburgh… He also said Labour had failed to deliver its promise of reducing energy bills…” – The Financial Times