Conservative party is fighting for its life, says former Tory cabinet minister

The Conservative party is fighting to justify its existence amid concerns that its pipeline of future voters is “completely dead”, a former cabinet minister and leading thinktank director has said.Simon Clarke, an ally of Boris Johnson who backed Kemi Badenoch for the leadership last year, was among a string of former Tory ministers and serving MPs to tell the Guardian she faced removal by her party if she did not turn its fortunes around by next year’s local elections.He said the party needed to face up to the reality that it had “not had a clear, compelling narrative for a long time”, and that it must focus on intergenerational fairness, public services reform and the economy.His assessment came after a week of recriminations for the Conservatives over the local election results, with Badenoch telling activists she was sorry for the loss of more than 600 councillors.The 200-year-old party, which has traditionally vied only with Labour to lead the government, has recently slumped to about 17% in the polls, while Reform and the Lib Dems are increasing challengers to the two-party system

How an excise officer kept up their spirits | Brief letters

John Garforth’s work as an excise officer (Letters, 8 May) reminds me of an ex-colleague’s job as the same, visiting bonded warehouses to check the quality of the spirits kept in store. After testing, a form was presented to the officer to complete. In answer to the question: “Was the remaining spirit disposed of in a common sewer?,” the answer always given was: “Eventually.”Colin PhillipsLondon Congratulations to Matthew Butte (Letters, 7 May) for his perseverance and ultimate success. In a similar vein, I have been learning to play the accordion, practising every day for 10 years, and I’m still married

Cometh the hour, cometh the Mandelson: UK ambassador rides crest of a trade deal | Patrick Wintour

Peter Mandelson, with his elegant suits, smooth patter and high-end lifestyle, has always had a dark secret: an interest in the minutiae of trade deals, left over from his period as EU trade commissioner, a period when he could bore for Europe on the virtues of the Mercosur trade deal. Alongside his networking skills, and political antennae, it was his knowledge of trade that possibly persuaded Keir Starmer to take the political risk of appointing him ambassador to Washington.A pro-European social democrat with a full record of insulting remarks about Donald Trump’s racism, Lord Mandelson might not have been the obvious man to open previously closed doors in the US administration.So on Thursday in the White House Oval Office, as the US and UK announced the first trade deal of the post-“Liberation Day” era, Mandelson could be forgiven for feeling pleased with himself. For an hour, poker-faced, he stood to the left behind the president seated at his desk

Labour MPs must realise welfare system ‘needs reform’, says Reeves – as it happened

Labour MPs must realise the welfare system needs reform, Rachel Reeves has said, as more than 40 MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to pause and reassess planned cuts to disability benefits (see 10.33am BST).Asked what her message to Labour MPs worried about the welfare cuts was, the chancellor told broadcasters:I don’t think anybody, including Labour MPs and members, think that the current welfare system created by the Conservative party is working today. They know that the system needs reform. We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we’re going to grow our economy

Two trade deals and a rate cut in one week … are things looking up for UK plc?

You wait three years for a trade deal and then two come along at once.As of Monday, the UK had not announced a free trade agreement since 2022, when Boris Johnson’s government signed one with New Zealand, ranked 52nd among global economies.By the end of a week foreshortened by the bank holiday, and which began with Donald Trump dropping a tariff bombshell on the British film industry, the government had unveiled a deal with India, as well as a more nebulous framework deal with the US, the fourth-largest and largest economies, respectively.Sandwiched in between the two announcements was an interest rate cut from the Bank of England, making it cheaper for UK businesses to borrow money to invest in the growth that the Labour government is so desperately chasing.Looking forward, opponents of tariff barriers are now crossing their fingers for a thawing of relations between the US and China, which would avert broader ripple effects depressing UK growth

Bank of England governor urges UK to rebuild EU trade ties as key summit looms

The governor of the Bank of England has said that the UK now needs to do everything it can to rebuild its long-term trade relationship with the EU, after a breakthrough agreement with the US to reduce some of Donald Trump’s tariffs.Andrew Bailey said that, while he would not pass judgment on the UK’s exit from the EU in early 2020, reversing the trade impact of Brexit would be “beneficial”.The government is in talks with the EU – after moves by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to “reset” trade relations since Labour came to power last year – before a summit in London in 10 days’ time where a new UK-EU partnership is expected to be unveiled.“Having a more open economy to trade with the European Union … would be beneficial,” Bailey told the BBC, “because there has been a fall-off in goods trade with the EU over recent years.”The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner, but in sectors such as food and drink exports have fallen by more than a third since Brexit