Is Reform UK a radical party or a home for ‘disgruntled former Conservatives’, asks James Cleverly
Reform UK might have to choose between presenting itself as a new and radical political party or as a home for “disgruntled former Conservatives” who lost their seats at the election, James Cleverly has said,Cleverly, the former home and foreign secretary, who stood to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, also argued that Nigel Farage’s party could suffer if the councils it now runs struggle to properly manage key everyday services such as bin collections and social care,Speaking at an event in Westminster organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, Cleverly discounted the idea that he hoped to replace Kemi Badenoch, saying his party had to “get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us”,Answering questions following a speech about how mainstream rightwing parties can take on the threat from populism, Cleverly noted the way that Reform had absorbed a series of former Tory MPs, most recently Jake Berry, the former party chair, who whose defection was announced last week,“If their sales pitch is, ‘We’re not like the old political parties,’ but they are mainly populated with people from my political party, it’s going to be really hard for them to reconcile that sales pitch,” he said.
“So what are they? Are they new? Are they different? Are they exciting? Or are they a repository for disgruntled former Conservatives? It’s hard to maintain both angles.”Asked if the defections were damaging for the Tories, Cleverly said it was “unsurprising that some people who are politically ambitious and remain politically ambitious look at the polling numbers and think their best future is to align themselves to the party that’s riding high in the polls”.He added: “I don’t think it’s smart.I don’t think it’s right.I think people lose credibility, particularly people who were Conservative candidates very, very recently who then basically say, ‘Oh, you know the thing that made me realise I wasn’t really a Tory was being booted out of office by the electorate.
’”Since the local elections in May, 10 English councils are now run by often very inexperienced Reform groups,While Cleverly said it was possible they would manage the process well, he argued that failure would be noticed by voters,“Local government is the bit of government people feel most instantly,” he said,“This is the bit of government that runs adult social care, their roads, their schools, their waste collection,When governments get stuff like that wrong, people notice and people respond.
”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionCleverly set out a broad policy pitch for the Conservatives similar to that of Badenoch, based around lower taxes and a smaller state, plus less regulation, reduced migration and more housebuilding, although he did argue that departure from the European convention on human rights, as raised by Badenoch, was not a “silver bullet” on migration and asylum.But he urged patience, saying that while a year since the election felt like a long time to politicians, for most voters it was not, who still blamed his party over areas like migration.He said: “The anger of the British people, the anger that they feel at this betrayal, is powerful and as Conservatives we shouldn’t kid ourselves that they’ve forgiven us yet, because they really haven’t.”
US inflation rose in June as Trump’s tariffs start to show in prices
Inflation accelerated in June as the impacts of Donald Trump’s tariffs slowly started to show in US prices.Business leaders have said for months that the high, volatile rates of Trump’s tariffs will force companies to raise consumer prices. Prices remained stable in the spring, particularly as many of Trump’s highest tariffs were paused; however, they started increasing in May and have continued to rise in June.Annual inflation rose to 2.7% in June, up from 2
Reeves unveils City strategy aimed at cutting red tape and fuelling UK growth
Rachel Reeves has unveiled a package of City changes meant to cut “unnecessary” red tape and encourage more financial risk-taking by companies and consumers in the hopes of spurring economic growth.In a financial services strategy dubbed the Leeds Reforms, the chancellor outlined initiatives designed to boost the financial services sector, including plans to cut “unnecessary costs” related to accountability rules for senior bankers, and to launch an advertising campaign to get consumers investing cash savings in stocks.The UK government will review ringfencing rules – introduced after the 2008 financial crisis – that are meant to protect consumer cash from a bank’s riskier business activities.The independence of the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and businesses, will also be watered down, while the rate of interest – and total compensation – that banks and other City firms have to pay to wronged consumers will be reduced.There will also be a review of risk warnings attached to investment products to ensure that people are “accurately” judging risk levels
Thames Water warns nationalisation is likely if emergency creditor talks fall
Thames Water has said it could collapse into temporary nationalisation if emergency talks with creditors fail, as it slumped to a £1.6bn annual loss.The loss for the 12 months to 31 March comes after a profit of £154m the previous year, even though revenues climbed by 8.7% to £2.7bn
Starbucks tells corporate staff in US and Canada to work in office at least four days a week
Starbucks has ordered its corporate staff to work from the office at least four days a week from late September and is offering cash payments to those who choose to quit instead.Brian Niccol, the chief executive of the Seattle-headquartered coffee chain, said many of its employees would be required to work in the office for a minimum of four days a week, up from three, from Monday to Thursday.The edict will apply to its Seattle and Toronto support centres and its regional offices in North America. The change does not apply to the UK, where Starbucks has its head office in Chiswick, west London.“We do our best work when we’re together,” Niccol said in a message to employees, referred to as “partners”, on the company’s website about “re-establishing an in-office culture”
Thousands of vehicles sit idle at EU port as Trump’s tariffs leave their mark
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been turned into a giant car park with thousands of cars, vans, trucks and tractors bound for the US sitting idle as manufacturers try to avert the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Figures released by the port show a 15.9% drop in the transport of new passenger cars and vans to the US in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with a sharp decline emerging in May – one month after the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs.Exports of trucks and what they call “high and heavy equipment” is down by almost a third at 31.5%
Fear of being ordered back to office affecting UK staff wellbeing, poll finds
A fear of being ordered back to the office is having an impact on workers’ wellbeing, according to a poll, after a string of companies issued return-to-office mandates.More than a third (38%) of workers surveyed said recent news stories about companies hardening their stance on office attendance had negatively affected their wellbeing, highlighting the tug-of-war between employers and their employees.More than four in five (84%) employees who work in a hybrid way – splitting their time between the office and a remote location, such as home – said it had a positive effect on their overall wellbeing, including their mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing.More women (87%) than men (80%) said they believed hybrid working had improved their wellbeing in the survey of 3,600 UK employers and employees across a range of industries in the public and private sectors between late April and early May by the recruitment company Hays.The main worry about returning to the office more frequently was cost, potentially additional commuting expenses, as almost six in 10 (59%) of those polled said worries about their finances would affect their willingness to spend more time in the office
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