theguardian.com
Badenoch says Tories want policies ‘for everybody’ as she defends plan to let millionaires to get free childcare – UK politics live
Conservative leader defends plan to extend free childcare to high earners, as Tory conference begins in Birmingham today
In a further exchange, Badenoch said that spending on the pensions triple lock was just “a ledger on the budget line”.
Kuenssberg said Badenoch was wrong to dismiss it like that. State spending on pensions was £177bn, she said.
The reason why is because what is going wrong in our economy is not lots of elderly people earning £10,000, £12,000 a year on the state pension. It is the huge number of people who can work, who don’t work.
We’ve had different policies at different times. We go with what the leader does. I am the leader now and what I am saying is that our economy is not growing. Changing and moving around the triple lock does not create growth.
In fact, if we were growing at 2 or 3%, nobody would be talking about the triple lock. Continue reading...
![From: Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.pro>
To: Nigel Farage <clacton@reformuk.com>
CC: [ other candidates ]
Subject: Nigel Farage / Letter of Claim / defamation, 13/14 August 2026
Attn: Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK
Dear Mr Farage,
This letter of claim is being sent to you as part of the pre-trial protocol for defamation proceedings in the High Court.
On the night of 13/14 August 2026, you gave a speech to Reform UK supporters claiming your rival candidates are "nobodies".
In the speech, you thanked your own supporters. You thanked the staff from Tendring District Council who administered the by-election. You did not thank your opponents or give us any acknowledgement except the assertion that we are "nobodies".
Your act of bad sportsmanship and the defamation carried more weight because you are the leader of a political party and you have been in the public eye for many years.
Your act of bad sportsmanship and the defamation was more severe due to the asymmetrical nature of your campaign budget and advantages you held as the incumbent member compared to our own campaigns. These advantages you hold are exacerbated by the first-past-the-post voting system in the UK.
While some candidates competed against you on a novelty theme, many of us competed on serious themes. Even novelty candidates raised some serious issues. Many of us showed up to campaign each day just as the community expects an elected MP to show up for work each day. Nobody, absolutely nobody, is a nobody.
In the same speech, you ask people to remember those who fought in world wars. My great grandfather came to the UK and France in World War 1. My great uncle served in the pacific in World War 2. My peers in the fellowship elected me to represent them before the German FSFE on ANZAC Day, 25 April 2017. I bravely did my job as a representative and exposed the FSFE as an example of Nigerian fraud. When I came to Clacton, you told the local community and the rest of the world I am a nobody.
Yo…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6laekojw3whqu64tlaxopvgx/bafkreigg7s6dvv6fgymoi33s4ha5qxrjhrt372een7ef4fizax6igbm4au)
