Q: Jenrick talks about wanting people to be properly accurate. Do you approve of that?<\/p>\n
Badenoch<\/strong> says, given it is the Guardian, she will take it with \u201ca pinch of salt\u201d. She says:<\/p>\n Given that it\u2019s The Guardian, I think I\u2019m going to take some of that with a pinch of salt.<\/p>\n They haven\u2019t always been the most accurate newspaper.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n She suggests the quotes might have been taken out of context.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what was being discussed before he said that. But in and of itself, it\u2019s a factual statement.<\/p>\n If he said he didn\u2019t see another white face, he might have been making an observation. There\u2019s nothing wrong with making observations.<\/p>\n But what he and I both agree with is that there are not enough people integrating. There are many people who are creating separate communities. I\u2019m very worried.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Q: So you agree with his concerns?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says:<\/p>\n Well, I wasn\u2019t there, so I can\u2019t say how many faces he saw, but the point is that there are many people in our country who are not integrating. I heard that one of the MPs of that area was accusing him of racism. I completely disagree with that. I want to make that very clear. In fact, I\u2019m quite worried about these sectarian MPs who\u2019ve been elected in Birmingham, very, very divisive politics, people who are more interested in talking about Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.27 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Here is a view of the conference hall where Chris Philp is speaking. No wonder his jokes are falling flat. (See 10.17am<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Jenrick addressing Tory conference Photograph: Rowena MasonShare<\/a><\/p>\n Here is the audio of Robert Jenrick<\/a> making his \u201cnot seeing another white face\u201d comment.<\/p>\n Philp<\/strong>\u2019s speech is full of jokes.<\/p>\n He says he set up a delivery company after he left university, so \u201cI literally know what is is like to deliver\u201d.<\/p>\n He says Labour<\/a> ministers have only worked in creative industries, \u201cmainly CV creation\u201d.<\/p>\n He says Rachel Reeves worked in customer complaints, \u201cwhich I imagine is coming in pretty hand right now\u201d.<\/p>\n And he says Labour has only sent a handful of people back to France where \u201cmaybe one of them will have a turn at being French prime minister\u201d.<\/p>\n But the jokes are all falling flat. He delivers the punchline, and no one laughs. That is probably not so much because of the quality (they are no worse than most conference jokes), but because there aren\u2019t many people in the audience.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Chris Philp<\/strong>, the shadow home secretary, is addressing the conference now.<\/p>\n He says he wants to start with \u201ca simple fact\u201d.<\/p>\n He says:<\/p>\n Keir Starmer lied to get power. He lied to the Labour party about what he believed in, he lied to the country about what he would do, and he lied to himself that he was up to the job.<\/p>\n No wonder Labour spent their conference plotting to replace Keir Starmer, who believes nothing, with Andrew Burnham, who apparently believes anything.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to be a Conservative.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Jenrick defends ‘didn’t see another white face’ comment, saying he was making case for integrated communities<\/p>\n Robert Jenrick<\/strong>, the shadow justice secretary, has also been giving interviews this morning, and he has defended the comments about Handsworth reported by the Guardian <\/a>that have been described as racist.<\/p>\n I want to live in a country which is well integrated. I want people to be living side-by-side, I never want to see segregated or even ghettoised communities. We want people of all skin colours, of all religions, to be living in harmonious, well-integrated communities with our kids growing up alongside each other.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m afraid in certain parts of the country, there are communities where that just isn\u2019t the case, and parts of Handsworth in Birmingham, where I was earlier in the year, a place I know quite well, growing up in the West Midlands, just don\u2019t resemble that. That makes me very worried.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He defended mentioning colour. <\/strong>Speaking on Radio 5 Live, he pointed out that the comments reported in the Guardian included him saying: \u201cIt\u2019s not about the colour of your skin or your faith, of course it isn\u2019t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives.\u201d Asked, if that was the case, why he had mentioned colour, he replied:<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Because it\u2019s incredibly important that we have a fully integrated society regardless of the colour of their skin or the faith that they abide by.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s a very dangerous place if we have a country where people are living in ghettoised communities where people are not living together side by side in harmonious communities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There are real dangers if we don\u2019t live in a well-integrated community, then this can lead to serious, serious challenges.<\/p>\n Look, just the other day here in Manchester, we saw a man who had lived in this country for 30 years, but was clearly not integrated into our society, clearly did not share British values, committing an appalling terrorist attack by going to a synagogue and killing British Jews. That is, at the extreme level, where failures of integration lead, and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to have a debate about this, and not have it shut down whenever anyone puts their head above the parapet and talks about it publicly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I think that\u2019s an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous comment. I tell you what gives rise to extremist views, with all due respect, journalists like yourself, trying to shut down legitimate and fair debate. What you are implying is that you can\u2019t say comments like that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Unlike Badenoch (see 7.41am<\/a> and 9.03am<\/a>), he did not claim that his comments had not been accurately reported by the Guardian.<\/p>\n Robert Jenrick being interviewed this morning. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The GuardianShare<\/a>Parker says Jenrick’s comments were racist because he focused on colour to make negative point about Handsworth<\/p>\n In his interview on BBC Radio WM, Richard Parker<\/strong>, the Labour mayor of the West Midlands, was asked if he thought Robert Jenrick\u2019s comments about Handsworth were racist. Parker replied:<\/p>\n I do. Because he\u2019s set out intentionally to draw on a particular issue – people\u2019s colour – to identify the point he wanted to make.<\/p>\n No other politician that I know in the West Midlands of a mainstream party would seek to do that explicitly and with the intent that he did.<\/p>\n The issue for me is that rather than reflect on the positive aspects of that community … he wanted to draw on a particular issue of ethnicity and colour. I think that is simply wrong.<\/p>\n It shows a lack of respect and understanding for those communities. And I doubt whether or not if he went to a largely white community anywhere in the West Midlands he\u2019d be making a comment similar to what he made about Handsworth.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Labour West Midlands mayor Richard Parker suggests Jenrick should be thrown out of Tory party over Handsworth comments<\/p>\n Richard Parker<\/strong>, the Labour mayor of the West Midlands, has condemned Robert Jenrick<\/a> for his comments about Handsworth. According to PA Media, Parker said he considered Jenrick\u2019s comments about Handsworth racist and questioned he would have made equivalent remarks about a predominantly white area.<\/p>\n Speaking to BBC Radio WM, Parker said:<\/p>\n I\u2019m angry, I\u2019m appalled. Frankly, I\u2019m disgusted and I want everyone to know in Handsworth – and I\u2019ve got many friends in Handsworth – that I will stand up for you.<\/p>\n Handsworth is a really vibrant community with lots of faiths and ethnicities working together and living together. The Soho Road is one of the most vibrant and successful high streets anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Claiming Jenrick had defined people by the colour of their skin \u201cwith intent and with a real purpose\u201d and gone to Handsworth without reflecting on the positive contribution local people make to Birmingham<\/a>, Parker said:<\/p>\n That\u2019s terribly disappointing. That raises serious questions about whether someone like Robert Jenrick should be allowed to be even a member of the Conservative party.<\/p>\n I think there are serious issues now for Kemi Badenoch to discuss with Robert Jenrick and senior members of the Conservative party about whether someone like Jenrick should be allowed to stand and sit as a Conservative politician.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Andy Street<\/strong>, Parker\u2019s Tory predecessor as mayor, has also condemned Jenrick\u2019s comments. (See 8.13am<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Badenoch accepts corporate lobbyists have stayed away from Tory conference<\/p>\n I have beefed up the post at 7.45am<\/a> with fuller quotes from Kemi Badenoch<\/strong> in response to claims that the Tory conference feels empty (which it does) because so few people are here.<\/p>\n One point Badenoch made was that corporate lobbyists are staying away. That is true too; there is no point lobbying a party if you don\u2019t think it will be in government.<\/p>\n Badenoch said:<\/p>\n A lot of the people who came just because we were in government, the corporate lobbyists, yes, they\u2019re not there, but our members are here. This is one of the first conferences I\u2019ve been to where it has really felt like the members owned it, and I\u2019m really proud of that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I have updated some of the other earlier posts too with direct quotes from the interviews. You may need to refresh the page to get those updates to appear.<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch being interviewed by LBC. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPAShare<\/a>Kemi Badenoch being interviewed on Times Radio this morning. Photograph: Peter Byrne\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Q: What would you say to Robert Jenrick<\/a> about his Handworth comments?<\/p>\n Badenoch says those comments were taken out of context.<\/p>\n But she and Jenrick are both worried about integration not going far enough.<\/p>\n She attacks Birmingham<\/a> Labour politicians again, accusing them of being sectarian.<\/p>\n Q: Is it true that the national anthem has been axed from the final day of conference?<\/p>\n Badenoch says they sang the national anthem on Sunday. She says she does not know where the story came from.<\/p>\n (But she should have been able to guess \u2013 GB News, of course<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Badenoch suggests they will sing it tomorrow.<\/p>\n And that is the end of Badenoch\u2019s interview round.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Q: How would you grade your time as leader so far?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> replies: \u201cDifficult.\u201d<\/p>\n She says she was worried about the party splitting. And its finances were in a poor state. She has addressed both problems.<\/p>\n Q: Your party cannot even spell Britain properly?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says that was a typo. It is \u201cfatuous\u201d to pretend that is the same as running government.<\/p>\n That is a reference to this story.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.23 EDT<\/p>\n Q: How many civil service jobs under your plans to cut spending there by \u00a38bn?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says it would be \u201ca lot\u201d. She does not have the number.<\/p>\n Q: What are the figures if you cut numbers back to pre-2016 levels.<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says she does not have the figures to hand.<\/p>\n Q: These are people\u2019s jobs. You should know.<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says if a job should not exist, there is no point keeping it.<\/p>\n She says most of the Tory savings will come from welfare cuts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.24 EDT<\/p>\n Q: How much personal responsibility do you take for the failures of the last government on immigration?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says she was not in the Home Office. As business secretary, she pushed for policies to bring down immigration.<\/p>\n But they must take collective responsibility, she says.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Badenoch suggests Reform UK defectors are joining party that backs higher spending<\/p>\n Asked about defections, Badenoch<\/strong> says she wants people in her party \u201cfor the right reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n People joining Reform UK<\/a> are joining a party in favour of higher spending.<\/p>\n UPDATE: Badenoch<\/strong> said:<\/p>\n What we are doing is shedding a lot of the baggage of the last 14 years. I remember last year we had people defecting to Labour because Labour was doing well in the polls. Now we have people defecting to Reform because Reform is doing well in the polls.<\/p>\n We need people who are in our party for the right reasons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.38 EDT<\/p>\n Badenoch claims poll suggesting half of Tory members want her replaced ‘not accurate’<\/p>\n Nick Ferrari<\/strong> from LBC is interviewing Kemi Badenoch<\/strong> now.<\/p>\n Q: A poll yesterday said half of members want you to stand down. What would you say to them?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says she is not bothered. She claims a poll before the leadership contest last year said she would lose. She says \u201cthese polls are not accurate\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.18 EDT<\/p>\n Q: What was the mistake the Tories made? Tax? Inflation? The Liz Truss budget? Immigration?<\/p>\n Badenoch<\/strong> says Reid did not listen to her speech on Sunday, where she addressed all this.<\/p>\n Balls<\/strong> says he can sense Badenoch\u2019s frustation. Badenoch l<\/strong>aughs. She says she is having a good conference. She says Balls is trying to rile him.<\/p>\n Q: Why don\u2019t you tell Robert Jenrick<\/a> to get back in his box?<\/p>\n\n
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Robert Jenrick complains of \u2018not seeing another white face\u2019 during Birmingham visit \u2013 audioShare<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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