Kemi Badenoch tells her new Tory top team to ‘take the fight to Labour’ – as she prepares for her first Commons clash with Keir Starmer TODAY_Nhy
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch last night told her new shadow cabinet to take the fight to Labour, as she prepared for her first Commons clash with Sir Keir Starmer this afternoon.
She said it was time to ‘get to work holding Labour to account’ following a four-month leadership contest which has focused on the future direction of the Conservative Party.
Allies said she would rely on her ‘Tory principles’ when she takes on Sir Keir for the first time at Prime Minister’s Questions today. She completed her senior team yesterday with the appointment of former policing minister Chris Philp as shadow home secretary.
In a statement, Mr Philp accused Labour of being ‘soft on crime and on criminals’ and called for a tougher approach to immigration.
‘We need to very substantially reduce legal migration, aim to end illegal entry to the UK and remove those with no right to be here – especially criminals,’ he said. ‘Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of this critical mission.’
Kemi Badenoch gathered her shadow cabinet for the first time today as she moves to unite the Tories
The new leader has given Mel Stride the key Treasury brief and signalled a stunning comeback for Priti Patel – who will be covering foreign affairs
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is preparing for her first Commons clash with Sir Keir Starmer this afternoon
Other senior figures also heeded Mrs Badenoch’s instruction to challenge Labour, with shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho launching an excoriating attack on Ed Miliband’s ‘wildly optimistic’ bid to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030, which she said risked higher bills and energy shortages.
New shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said Labour’s ‘Budget of broken promises will hurt rural and coastal Britain and has shown that Labour does not understand the pressures we face’.
And Mrs Badenoch’s former leadership rival Robert Jenrick started his role as shadow justice secretary by demanding an apology from Labour for releasing prisoners early, adding: ‘The only group this Labour Government’s popularity has increased with is criminals.’
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: ‘Britain’s businesses need a government that has their backs, not one that brings them down. Rather than cutting red tape, this Government has decided to burden businesses and treat them like cash cows.’
New shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon added: ‘Labour’s plans, whether it’s renationalising our railways… or hammering motorists with needless taxes such as Ulez… are poor.’
Mrs Badenoch said her team ‘draws on the talents of people from across the Conservative Party, based on meritocracy’.
Mrs Badenoch’s former leadership rival Robert Jenrick started his role as shadow justice secretary by demanding an apology from Labour for releasing prisoners early, adding: ‘The only group this Labour Government’s popularity has increased with is criminals’
New shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said Labour’s ‘Budget of broken promises will hurt rural and coastal Britain and has shown that Labour does not understand the pressures we face’