Newslinks for Sunday 7th December 2025 | Conservative Home

Lord Offord defects to Reform UK

“Nigel Farage sought to dent rising Tory morale last night by unveiling Reform UK’s latest defection from Kemi Badenoch’s party – a leading Conservative peer and party donor. Mr Farage announced that Baron Offord of Garvel had now joined his party – giving Reform its first member of the House of Lords. But last night, it was revealed that Lord Offord is set to quit the Lords within weeks to stand as a Reform candidate for the Scottish Parliament next May.” – Mail on Sunday

• Reform’s record £9m crypto donation is just the latest offering from abroad – Observer
• Nigel Farage has cash in the bag. It’s his teenage self he has to beat – Josh Glancy, Sunday Times
• ‘Scotland will be seeing a lot more of me’ – Farage takes fight north of border – Sunday Telegraph
• Farage to launch legal challenge over delayed elections – Sunday Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: In the complex world of electoral maths, doing the homework to find the right solutions has become the only route to survival

Offord: The Holyrood establishment has let us down

“Since 1999, both Labour and the SNP have believed that economic and social progress lies solely in the hands of ministers and bureaucrats spending taxpayers’ money. This has not delivered better outcomes for the people of Scotland. Instead, all we’ve got is higher taxes and spending, choking growth and innovation. Instead of using government’s power and resources to issue diktats on the economy and public services, we should follow the advice of that great Scottish liberal economist Adam Smith and create a conducive environment for growth and the social progress that follows. This is about creating a framework that people can interact with in a way that benefits society as a whole….The Scottish Conservatives have paid lip service to elements of this narrative, but they do not have a meaningful agenda for reform.” – Lord Offord, Sunday Telegraph

Unite Union “contemplates disaffiliation from the Labour Party”

“Labour’s biggest union backer is considering a historic vote on splitting from the party in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. Senior officials at Unite are in talks about whether to call an emergency conference to vote on formal disaffiliation from the Labour Party. Sources say there is “intense frustration” with Sir Keir, from the top of the union down to the grass roots membership. Some Labour MPs believe Unite’s support can only be won back with a change of party leader, with one saying: “They would coalesce around one candidate on the Left of the party.” – Sunday Telegraph

Young people on benefits to be offered construction and hospitality work

“Young people on benefits will be offered job opportunities in industries such as construction and hospitality in a bid to tackle rising youth unemployment. The government will fund 350,000 training and work experience placements, and will guarantee 55,000 jobs in areas it says are in the highest need from spring 2026. Funding will come from the £820m announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget last month to finance a raft of measures aimed at getting young people off Universal Credit and into work.” – BBC

Jury trials 1) Lammy accused of misrepresenting rape case figures to justify cut

“David Lammy has been accused by senior barristers of misrepresenting figures about rape cases collapsing in a “cynical” attempt to push through the abolition of half of all jury trials. The justice secretary has repeatedly suggested that 60 per cent of victims are pulling out of cases because of delays in the court system. However, the true statistics show the vast majority of rapes reported are abandoned long before a charge is brought, due to factors such as policing delays. The number of victims withdrawing post-charge is 8 per cent.” – Sunday Times

• How to clear the court backlog without ditching juries – Sunday Times

Jury trials 2) Hannan: Labour’s abolition of our ancient liberties is putting us on the road to tyranny

“England’s courts, from the King’s Bench to Quarter Sessions and Manorial Courts, managed to keep going throughout the Civil War; but they have been poleaxed by working from home, which is now the norm in the public sector. People who have been charged, perhaps incorrectly, are subject to months of stress, often unable to work while accusations hang over them. And delays necessarily degrade the eventual value of witness evidence based on memory. How to fix the problem? A paper by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that, if the case disposal rate were to return to pre-pandemic levels, that alone would be enough to clear the backlog. A government that was purely interested in ending the delays would push up the number of sitting days and come down harder on no-shows. But this is not about efficiency. It is about Labour’s instinctive love of bureaucracy, its belief that experts should be allowed to run things unmolested by ignorant oafs who might have voted Leave.” – Daniel Hannan, Sunday Telegraph

Biological men will not be allowed to attend main Labour Women’s Conference events

“Trans women will not be able to take part in the main session at the Labour Women’s Conference next year. It follows a legal review into how the event should operate after the Supreme Court ruled in April that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities legislation. Trans women will not be able to take part in formal proceedings, including speeches in the main hall and policy debates, but will be able to attend fringe events, which will be open to everyone regardless of their sex. It is understood the party considers the format to be the least restrictive way of balancing accessibility and compliance with the law.” – BBC

Labour leadership 1) Rayner “rejects offer to return to Cabinet to prepare her own leadership bid”

“Sir Keir Starmer is so concerned about a leadership challenge from Angela Rayner that he has offered her the Education Secretary’s job, it was claimed on Saturday. Allies of Ms Rayner say the Prime Minister is desperately trying to persuade his former deputy – who resigned in September after a scandal over her tax affairs – to return to his Cabinet in a bid to shore up his position. Sir Keir’s aides are said to have privately suggested she could be handed back her old job of Housing Secretary, or even given the education brief currently held by Bridget Phillipson, in a reshuffle next year. The revelation comes after it emerged that allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting are pressing Ms Rayner to sign up to a ‘joint ticket’ for the Labour leadership – dubbed ‘Wangela’ – with the offer of a return to the Deputy Prime Minister position if she threw her support behind him. But sources said Ms Rayner is resisting both approaches – and is instead preparing her own bid for No 10 after what will likely be catastrophic local election results for Labour in May.” – Mail on Sunday

• Rayner’s next move has the Labour Party on tenterhooks – Jason Cowley, Sunday Times
• Why a Streeting and Rayner double-act is doomed – Sarah Vine, Mail on Sunday
• ‘People despise Starmer. It’s genuine hatred’. MP’s damning verdict on PM and the proof that Labour’s fight to save the Red Wall is over – Dan Hodges, Mail on Sunday

Labour leadership 2) Streeting “needs gang of four endorsement to avoid contest”

“Wes Streeting will need to get the backing of Labour’s left-wing “gang of four” to be crowned Labour leaders, allies say. The Health Secretary will need endorsements from Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband, Lisa Nandy and Lucy Powell to avoid a bloody contest, insiders believe. Mutinous Labour MPs are thinking about trying to oust Sir Keir Starmer as leader after the local elections next May amid tanking poll ratings. Most want a coronation to avoid a bruising drawn out contest that would make the party even more unpopular with voters.” – The Sun on Sunday

Iceland boss Richard Walker “to become a Labour peer”

“The chairman of the supermarket chain Iceland will be nominated for a Labour peerage, sources within the party have confirmed. They said Richard Walker was “a committed champion of families dealing with the cost of living” and “will be a strong voice in Parliament”. The 45-year-old left the Conservative Party in 2023, and was later seen at the launch of Labour’s manifesto for the 2024 general election.” – BBC

MPs in constituencies only 35 minutes from Parliament call for right to claim more than £30,000-a-year on second home costs

“MPs who represent constituencies just 35 minutes from the Commons could again be allowed to claim more than £30,000-a-year of taxpayers’ money to rent a London crash-pad – after they moaned about their commute home. In a move that risks reigniting a huge row after the 2009 expenses scandal, a parliamentary watchdog has slipped out plans to tear up restrictions on accommodation costs for outer London MPs.” – Mail on Sunday

350,000 foreign-born families to get extra welfare spending from lifting the two-child benefit cap

“Nearly 350,000 foreign-born families could get extra welfare handouts because of Rachel Reeves’ Budget, analysis shows. And almost 200,000 of them are from just ten countries. Big immigrant families from ­Pakistan and Bangladesh are set to benefit the most from lifting the two-child benefit cap, according to the research. Sir Keir Starmer has vehemently defended the controversial handout — saying it will lift 350,000 children out of poverty…Tory MP Nick Timothy — who carried out the research — fumed: “You have to ask whose side this Government is on.” – The Sun on Sunday

• By paying more to immigrant families, Labour is sending a message that our benefits system is an open buffet – Nick Timothy, The Sun on Sunday
• Britain’s welfare budget will hand biggest hand-outs to those who contribute the least – Leader, The Sun on Sunday
• Thousands of migrants let in despite failing language tests – Sunday Telegraph
• If this Government has achieved anything, it is in reminding voters of how Right-wing they truly are – Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph

Peers’ delay of assisted dying bill ‘could lead to constitutional crisis’

“A coalition of former civil service chiefs and House of Lords leaders has warned that a small group of peers trying to block the assisted dying bill could send Britain into a constitutional crisis. Tory grandees have echoed the concerns, claiming further obstruction in the Lords could turbocharge calls to abolish the upper chamber entirely. The warning comes as the bill faces more than 1,100 amendments, with nearly two thirds of them lodged by just eight peers opposed to assisted dying. On Friday only 52 amendments were debated, raising fears that the bill, which must clear all stages by spring 2026, could be timed out.” – Sunday Times

Other political news

• Zelenskyy to meet Starmer at Downing Street to discuss US draft peace deal – The Guardian
• Police apologise to Jewish leaders over Maccabi Tel Aviv report – Sunday Times
• Thatcher nearly died in missile attack as her plane flew over Mozambique – Mail on Sunday
• North Herts Council removed after losing confidence vote – BBC
• Met has lost more than 1,700 officers since Labour came to power – Mail on Sunday
• Scrap pension triple lock to help working-class boys, says think tank – Sunday Telegraph
• Britain’s move to ban youngsters from smoking breaks international law, says five European countries – The Sun on Sunday
• UK university investigates professor’s anti-Israel ‘boycott’ – Sunday Telegraph

Griffith: Removing caps on employment tribunal awards is another blow to small firms

“The body blows keep coming. Labour’s latest unappetising wheeze – cooked up by the trade unions and to be voted on in Parliament this week – is removing the long-accepted caps on awards that can be made by employment tribunals for employees who have been dismissed. While most cases don’t end up in court, these limits are the basis of settlement agreements – without which we can expect more additions to the enormous backlog of 491,000 open tribunal claims. It will be ruinously expensive for small firms and further incentivise vexatious claims. Companies will feel they can neither exit unproductive staff nor afford the risk of expensive payouts. In the public sector, it is taxpayers who will be on the hook. Given the almost complete absence of performance management in the Civil Service or town halls, monies extracted from hard-working families to pay for public services will instead end up in the pockets of employment lawyers, union reps and those whose failure is so palpable that even reluctant public sector bosses conclude they need to be dismissed.” – Andrew Griffith, Mail on Sunday

• Labour pay rises will stop young getting jobs, says minimum wage pioneer – Sunday Telegraph
• Business rates shock will only hasten high streets’ decline – Leader, Sunday Times

Ashcroft: Divisive approach from US Democrats makes it harder for them to win

“Believing that the voters you need to win over are sexist, racist and stupid hardly seems the most promising platform on which to build a popular recovery. Some Democrats say they want a more moderate and less divisive agenda. But it depends on your definition of moderate. To a lot of them, things such as open borders and a radical approach to transgender rights are perfectly reasonable policies, and the only divisive thing is to oppose them. Beyond that, these voters – who will begin choosing their party’s nominee for president just over two years from now – are in no mood to reach out to waverers who, by voting even reluctantly for Trump, have put themselves beyond what they consider the bounds of civilised debate. All this makes a Democratic victory harder, but doesn’t rule it out.” – Lord Ashcroft, Mail on Sunday

• It’s been said that our politics is becoming more European. I disagree – Robert Colvile, Sunday Times

News in brief

• Tories to move headquarters – The Spectator
• Wealth inequality is not a problem in Britain – Kristian Niemietz, CapX
• Is the imminent closure of 50 universities really such a bad thing? – Duke Maskell, Daily Sceptic
• How the ‘decolonisation’ movement betrays black history – Remi Adekoya, Spiked Online
• The end of liberal hegemony – Doug Stokes, The Critic