‘Not words that I would have used’ – Mel Stride refuses to back Jenrick’s no white faces comment about Handsworth<\/p>\n
Mel Stride<\/strong>, the shadow chancellor, has said that he would not have used the words that Robert Jenrick did about not seeing \u201canother white face\u201d<\/a> when he talked about visiting Handsworth in Birmingham.<\/p>\n Stride is the first senior Tory at the conference to distance himself from Jenrick over the comments, which Kemi Badenoch<\/a> has been defending all today.<\/p>\n At a Politico fringe meeting<\/a>, asked by Anne McElvoy<\/strong> how he felt about Jenrick\u2019s comments, Stride<\/strong> replied:<\/p>\n Those are not words that I would have used.<\/p>\n Having said that, everybody chooses their own words. It\u2019s now being asked, does the fact that he said that make him a racist? No, I don\u2019t believe it does at all.<\/p>\n But I think everybody chooses their own words. And I\u2019ll be frank and say they are not words that I would have chosen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.26 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n Early evening summary<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n Michael Heseltine suggests axing Climate Change Act would be ‘act of unforgiveable irresponsibility’ by Tories<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 5h ago<\/p>\n James Cleverly admits he’s not ruling out bid to be Tory mayor of London in 2028<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 5h ago<\/p>\n Ed Davey says Jenrick speech shows Tories want ‘puppet judges’ and no longer back rule of law<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 5h ago<\/p>\n Handsworth’s MP Ayoub Khan calls on Jenrick to apologise for ‘dangerous’ remarks<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 5h ago<\/p>\n ‘Not words that I would have used’ – Mel Stride refuses to back Jenrick’s no white faces comment about Handsworth<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 6h ago<\/p>\n Tories call for zero tolerance approach to violence in schools, with pupils permanently excluded if they bring in knife<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 6h ago<\/p>\n Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge criticises Farage for being anti-Nato<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 7h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick’s attack on judges ‘serious mistake’, says former supreme court justice Lord Sumption<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 8h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick says he did not mention Reform UK in his speech ‘because I don’t obsess about them’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 8h ago<\/p>\n Green leader Zack Polanski says Jenrick’s comments about Handsworth were racist<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 9h ago<\/p>\n Lammy accuses Jenrick of ‘democratic backsliding’ because of Tory threats to judicial independence<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 9h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick’s conference speech – snap verdict<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 9h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick claims ‘collapse of old order is in sight’ as he urges Tories to fight for ‘new order’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 9h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick says people of Britain have ‘had enough’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick says he admires Heseltine for his combative approach to Labour in Thatcher era<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick claims he has ‘uncovered dozens of judges’ biased in favour of migrants<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick compares attorney general, Lord Hermer, to mafia lawyer, and calls him ‘useful idiot for our enemies’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick starts speech with joke about how little time Liz Truss lasted as PM<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Farage claims Tory party ‘finished’, after Reform UK announces 20 councillor defections<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 10h ago<\/p>\n Chris Philp says Tories would allow stop and search without grounds for suspicion in crime hotspot areas<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 11h ago<\/p>\n Reform UK puts out multiple announcements about councillor defections from Tories, with more than 12 switching already<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 11h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch accepts EU could suspend criminal law enforcement cooperation if UK leaves ECHR<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 12h ago<\/p>\n Jenrick defends ‘didn’t see another white face’ comment, saying he was making case for integrated communities<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 12h ago<\/p>\n Parker says Jenrick’s comments were racist because he focused on colour to make negative point about Handsworth<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 12h ago<\/p>\n Labour West Midlands mayor Richard Parker suggests Jenrick should be thrown out of Tory party over Handsworth comments<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 12h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch accepts corporate lobbyists have stayed away from Tory conference<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch suggests Reform UK defectors are joining party that backs higher spending<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch claims poll suggesting half of Tory members want her replaced ‘not accurate’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch brushes off announcement from Reform UK about another councillor defection from Tories<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch argues post-Brexit trade deal with EU would not stop Tories leaving ECHR<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch rejects claim she does not know where the 150,000 migrants Tories went to deport every year will go<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 13h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch claims Jenrick’s comment taken out of context, as she accepts people should not be judged on colour<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Former Tory mayor Andy Street says Jenrick wrong about Handsworth, saying it’s ‘very integrated place’ and no slum<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch dismisses case for pact with Reform UK, claiming Farage’s party wants more spending and more welfare<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch says she thinks she is best person to be Tory leader<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch condemns people taking part in Gaza protests today, on 2nd anniversary of Hamas attack<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch dismisses claims low turnout is problem for Tory conference<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch defends Jenrick over comments that he \u2018did not see another white face\u2019 in Birmingham<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch rejects claim she has ditched plan to delay policy announcements until 2027 – saying she never said that<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n 14h ago<\/p>\n Badenoch faces grilling over lack of support from Tory members as conference continues<\/p>\n <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Early evening summary<\/p>\n I do believe it\u2019s a racist comment. It\u2019s the fact that he wasn\u2019t talking about anything else [other than skin colour].<\/p>\n And I think him trying to now suggest it wasn\u2019t about race, it was about integration, again I find troubling. Because when he talks about integration, what are the indicators that he\u2019s using to judge that Handsworth isn\u2019t integrated?<\/p>\n Colleagues that I\u2019ve spoken to from that area are very clear about the diversity that exists there. You have Pakistani people living there, Indian people living there, Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi people living there. I mean that is the definition of integration.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kemi Badenoch has said lack of proper community integration could take Britain to \u201ca very dark place\u201d.<\/strong> She has defended Jenrick, and in an interview with the BBC she claimed<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n There are numerous parts of our country now where the same story is happening, and at the extreme levels, a lack of integration leads us into a very dark place as a country.<\/p>\n We\u2019re here in Manchester today, a week on from a terrible terrorist attack where a man who lived in our country for 30 years clearly wasn\u2019t well integrated, clearly didn\u2019t share British values because he went on to murder British Jews.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly avoiding saying whether or not she admires Nigel Farage. <\/strong>In a Sky News interview, Beth Rigby asked her if she admired the Reform UK leader. Sky reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n [Badenoch] responded first, \u201con what basis\u201d, then \u201cI don\u2019t understand your question\u201d and thirdly, \u201cwhy aren\u2019t you asking about Keir Starmer or Ed Davey?\u201d Beth then explained that she also asked the prime minister about Farage during the Labour conference, and that he said the Reform leader is \u201cformidable\u201d. Badenoch responded: \u201cI think it\u2019s very interesting that a lot of the media in Westminster is very interested in asking about Nigel Farage. I\u2019m not interested in Nigel Farage, I\u2019m interested in the Conservative party.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.<\/p>\n Robert Jenrick after giving his speech to the Tory conference. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.13 EDT<\/p>\n Earlier I said Sadiq Khan<\/strong> would definitely be standing down as London mayor in 2028. (See 5.09am<\/a>.) A reader points out that Khan gave an interview before the Labour conference saying that he would stand for a fourth term<\/a>. I\u2019m sorry for the error. But I\u2019m told that when Khan gave that answer, he did not want to say he would be standing down in case that triggered headlines about his intending to challenge Keir Starmer etc (Andy Burnham was making headlines at the time), and there is still an expectation that he will call it a day after three terms.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.40 EDT<\/p>\n Michael Heseltine suggests axing Climate Change Act would be ‘act of unforgiveable irresponsibility’ by Tories<\/p>\n Michael Heseltine<\/strong>, the former deputy prime minister, was often the star performer at Conservative party conferences in the 1980s and 1990s. Now he is estranged from the Tory leadership (he hated Brexit), and he\u2019s 92, but he was at conference today giving a speech at European Movement fringe.<\/p>\n Heseltine said he wanted to see the election of another Tory government. But he criticised two of the biggest policy announcements at the conference.<\/p>\n On leaving the European convention on human rights, he said:<\/p>\n In one of his most famous speeches Winston Churchill at Zurich in 1946 called for a Council of Europe and a Charter of Human Rights. This country was the first to ratify the Charter before it came into force in 1953. It was the first legally binding international human rights treaty.<\/p>\n The court itself came into existence in 1959 with the British Lord McNair as its first President. The UK has had a British judge ever since as one of the 46 judges representing the 46 signatories. In the event that a case is brought concerning the UK that British judge will be involved in the proceedings.<\/p>\n If any changes are required, the worst thing is to walk out and turn our back on one of the most civilised of European creations. The right way is to follow David Cameron\u2019s example and seek change by agreement as he did in 2012 with the Brighton Declaration. It is more than possible that the widespread concerns about asylum seekers across Europe would make review welcome to many signatories.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And on repealing the Climate Change Act, he said:<\/p>\n The threat from global warming must not be ignored in the hope that it may not happen or because there is a backlash against the cost. The Climate Change Act 2008 was prepared by the conservative opposition led by David Cameron. So comprehensive was the parliamentary support that Gordon Brown agreed to accept it as a government bill which was passed with only five dissenting votes. The act set up the Climate Change Committee. This committee has been supported by our party and indeed on its recommendation we passed into law the Net Zero target by 2050. We should be proud of our role in the battle to halt climate change. It was Margaret Thatcher who gave one of the starkest and earliest warnings of the dangers. Today the evidence in storms, coastal erosion, flooding, fire and the spread of desert is all too clear. It would be an act of unforgivable irresponsibility to undo all that Conservatives have done to play a leading role in this world threatening crisis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Heseltine also condemned the demonisation of asylum seekers.<\/p>\n The overwhelming majority of asylum seekers want to share in our standards, and to escape from persecution or civil war. To describe them as thieves or rapists is not just dishonest but encourages the worst sort of prejudice in our communities. If you want further proof just visit any part of our health services, social services, public or private sector offices or academia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Michael Heseltine at Tory conference today. Photograph: Oli Scarff\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>James Cleverly admits he’s not ruling out bid to be Tory mayor of London in 2028<\/p>\n James Cleverly<\/strong>, the shadow housing secretary, has confirmed that he is thinking about standing as the Tory candidate for London mayor in 2028.<\/p>\n In an interview with Adam Fleming<\/strong> for the BBC\u2019s Newscast podcast, Cleverly said he was primarily committed to his constituency in Essex (Braintree), but admitted that he was attracted by the prospect of the London<\/a> job.<\/p>\n Asked if he fancied being London mayor, Cleverly<\/strong> replied:<\/p>\n \u200aThe mayor of big cities like London is an incredibly important job.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already discussed the huge difference that Andy Street made to Birmingham and the West Midlands.<\/p>\n Look, I love being the mayor for Braintree [ie, MP for Braintree]. I\u2019ve had so many people say, you, you cut your teeth in London politics. It\u2019s a really, really important job.<\/p>\n My heart is in Essex, but I also know watching London go wrong angers me enormously.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When Fleming<\/strong> said that answer made it sound as if he was interested in the job, Cleverly<\/strong> replied:<\/p>\n Look I\u2019d be stupid not to think about it, but I say my heart, my heart\u2019s in Essex.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Cleverly first held elected office as a member of the London assembly.<\/p>\n There has been speculation about Cleverly trying to get the Tory nomination for the election, which will be in 2028, for some time and yesterday he revived it with a conference speech that included a long passage<\/a> attacking Sadiq Khan\u2019s record on housing in the capital.<\/p>\n With Khan widely expected to stand down in 2028, and Labour<\/a> very unpopular nationally, there is a speculation that a mainstream\/liberal Conservative like Cleverly could do well in the election. Boris Johnson was elected mayor of London in 2008 on a similar platform.<\/p>\n The full interview will be available around 7pm tonight.<\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE: A reader points out that Khan gave an interview before the Labour conference saying that he would stand for a fourth term<\/a>. Sorry; I was wrong to say earlier that Khan would definitely be standing down in 2028. But I\u2019m told that when Khan gave that answer, he did not want to say he would be standing down in case that triggered headlines about his intending to challenge Keir Starmer etc (Andy Burnham was making headlines at the time), and there is still an expectation that he will call it a day after three terms. I\u2019ve amended the wording in the post above.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.40 EDT<\/p>\n Ed Davey says Jenrick speech shows Tories want ‘puppet judges’ and no longer back rule of law<\/p>\n Ed Davey<\/strong>, the Lib Dem leader, has said that Robert Jenrick\u2019s speech shows that the Conservatives want \u201cpuppet judges\u201d and are no longer a party supporting the rule of law. He posted this on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n We have an independent judiciary in this country. Robert Jenrick wants puppet judges.<\/p>\n The Conservative Party once believed in the rule of law and our shared British values – no longer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Handsworth’s MP Ayoub Khan calls on Jenrick to apologise for ‘dangerous’ remarks<\/p>\n Sundus Abdi<\/p>\n Sundus Abdi is a Guardian reporter.<\/p>\n Ayoub Khan<\/strong>, the independent MP who represents Handsworth, has accused Robert Jenrick<\/a> of making \u201cdangerous\u201d and \u201cdivisive\u201d comments about integration.<\/p>\n Speaking from Soho Road in Handsworth, Khan told BirminghamLive<\/a>:<\/p>\n To suggest integration is about the colour of your skin is not only disingenuous \u2013 it\u2019s dangerous, it\u2019s divisive.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He said Jenrick \u201cgot nothing right\u201d about the area, adding that the shadow justice secretary had only spent \u201cabout nine minutes\u201d in Handsworth earlier this year, during a visit focused on rubbish and fly tipping.<\/p>\n Khan, whose Birmingham<\/a> Perry Barr constituency covers Handsworth, added: \u201cWe know we\u2019ve had bin strikes, we know workers are not getting their fair share and having to take losses of \u00a38,000 on average.\u201d<\/p>\n Khan also criticised Tory leader Kemi Badenoch<\/a> for supporting Jenrick\u2019s comments, saying she \u201cshould have taken a very different view\u201d. He added:<\/p>\n When you bring race into a discussion, you are fuelling hatred and division.We have seen incidents where hate crime has increased and people like Robert Jenrick, and his comments, are not welcome.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ayoub Khan Photograph: Ayoub KhanShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.41 EDT<\/p>\n ‘Not words that I would have used’ – Mel Stride refuses to back Jenrick’s no white faces comment about Handsworth<\/p>\n Mel Stride<\/strong>, the shadow chancellor, has said that he would not have used the words that Robert Jenrick did about not seeing \u201canother white face\u201d<\/a> when he talked about visiting Handsworth in Birmingham.<\/p>\n Stride is the first senior Tory at the conference to distance himself from Jenrick over the comments, which Kemi Badenoch<\/a> has been defending all today.<\/p>\n At a Politico fringe meeting<\/a>, asked by Anne McElvoy<\/strong> how he felt about Jenrick\u2019s comments, Stride<\/strong> replied:<\/p>\n Those are not words that I would have used.<\/p>\n Having said that, everybody chooses their own words. It\u2019s now being asked, does the fact that he said that make him a racist? No, I don\u2019t believe it does at all.<\/p>\n But I think everybody chooses their own words. And I\u2019ll be frank and say they are not words that I would have chosen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.26 EDT<\/p>\n Tories call for zero tolerance approach to violence in schools, with pupils permanently excluded if they bring in knife<\/p>\n Laura Trott<\/strong>, the shadow education secretary, proposed a zero tolerance approach to violence in schools in her speech to the conference this morning. This would involve a presumption that pupils who bring a knife to school should be permanently excluded.<\/p>\n She explained:<\/p>\n We can\u2019t shy away from setting clear boundaries, for excluding pupils when they have been extremely violent or are carrying a knife.<\/p>\n This is not about giving up on those children. It is actually the opposite.<\/p>\n Children must learn that actions have consequences. That is just how the world works.<\/p>\n So, under the Conservatives, our policy is simple: one knife and you are out.<\/p>\n If you assault a teacher then you are out.<\/p>\n If you sexually assault someone then you are out.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been expelled from not just one but two mainstream schools, then it\u2019s clear, mainstream classrooms aren\u2019t for you.<\/p>\n If children bring knives into the classroom, then they shouldn\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n If they are violent, then they shouldn\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n And under the Conservatives, they won\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Laura Trott at the conference this morning. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n During his Q&A at a Telegraph fringe, the Telegraph writer Tim Stanley<\/strong> asked Robert Jenrick<\/a> about his Handsworth comments and suggested that if he had gone somewhere \u201cmono-culturally white\u201d, he would not be commenting on the absence of black or brown faces.<\/p>\n As the Telegraph reports<\/a>, Jenrick<\/strong> replied:<\/p>\n The left do, \u2018decolonise the countryside\u2019, \u2018decolonise the National Trust\u2019… What I said is it not about the colour of your skin or your faith. My point is that we don\u2019t want to have communities where they do not reflect the breadth of the people who live in our country. I think it\u2019s self-evidently true.<\/p>\n Not only I think is that bad because we want to live in a country where there is a strong sense of togetherness, but at the extreme it leads us down a very dangerous path.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A former Tory MP who joined the Ukrainian military\u2019s foreign legion has called on the government to be \u201ca bit more positive\u201d about British people volunteering to fight, PA Media reports. PA says:<\/p>\n Jack Lopresti<\/strong>, who was the MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke from 2010 to 2024, lost his seat in the July election.<\/p>\n Speaking at the conference, Lopresti said: \u201cIt also has to be said that we need people. And I think the government should be a bit more positive about volunteers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my view, if you\u2019ve got military experience and you\u2019re a veteran and you want to go and help in Ukraine, you should be encouraged to do so, because we are starting to get really stretched.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge criticises Farage for being anti-Nato<\/p>\n James Cartlidge<\/strong>, the shadow defence secretary, used his speech to the Tory conference to accuse Nigel Farage<\/a> of anti-Nato.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n There are those who claim that Nigel Farage\u2019s party are the true conservatives, but let us remind ourselves what happened when Putin launched his all-out invasion.<\/p>\n On that day, what did Farage do? Whose side was he on as our continent was suddenly threatened with war for the first time since 1945? That day, he chose to blame Nato for provoking Putin.<\/p>\n What did we do that day? Instead of blaming our closest allies, we took real action to defend freedom by arming the Ukrainians at lightning speed.<\/p>\n NLAW anti-tank weapons, half a million artillery shells, the first government to provide main battle tanks and Storm Shadow missiles, and by training 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers.<\/p>\n This is what it means to be a true conservative \u2013 standing up to Putin, just like Churchill did to Hitler, Thatcher to Galtieri and in this party, we will always stand up for freedom and be prepared to defend it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Share<\/a>Robert Jenrick posing for a photograph at the party conference. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Labour sources have defended Lord Hermer<\/strong> in the light of Robert Jenrick\u2019s attack on him. One source said:<\/p>\n [Robert] Jenrick thinks personal attacks are a good replacement for a basic understanding of the law. The attorney general is changing things for the better, including helping deliver the Hillsborough Law, while Jenrick nearly collapses murder trials with his tweets<\/a>. Who would you rather have protecting the rule of law?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is also being pointed out that Hermer\u2019s legal work before entering government included representing Grenfell Tower families and working on the taskforce for accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine.<\/p>\n I have beefed up the post at 12.09pm<\/a>, with Jenrick\u2019s comments about Hermer, to include more direct quotes. You may need to refresh the page to get the update to appear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jenrick’s attack on judges ‘serious mistake’, says former supreme court justice Lord Sumption<\/p>\n Lord Sumption<\/strong>, a former supreme court judge, told the World at One that Robert Jenrick\u2019s proposal to change the judicial appointments process so that the lord chancellor (the justice secretary) appoints judges would be a \u201cserious mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n Sumption said that, before 2005, the lord chancellor did appoint judges. But opinion was \u201cmuch less polarised\u201d then, he said. He said the only Marxist to sit on the high court bench was appointed by Lord Hailsham, a Conservative. He went on:<\/p>\n If judges were appointed in today\u2019s polarised world by the lord chancellor, I do not think the public would have the same confidence in their independence. They\u2019re actually appointed by the judicial appointments commission, which is an independent, non-political body, and it looks for the same qualities in the judges it appoints.<\/p>\n The only possible reason for going back to the old system would be to appoint judges who were less independent or more political than the ones appointed by the judicial appointments commission.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sumption said the Jenrick policy would bring the UK closer to the US model, where the president appoints judges to the supreme court. He went on:<\/p>\n In the United States, the supreme court has become subservient to the president and enabled him to behave like an autocrat. I think that that is a very serious business in the United States, and we should be very careful to take take warning from it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sumption also said he did not think it was objectionable for part-time judges to give free legal services to bodies like migration charities. Making public statements that were politically controversial was a form of misconduct, he said. But he said there were already procedures in place to deal with that. The system \u201cworks perfectly well\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n He went on:<\/p>\n Judges have got to be independent of the government and independent of political sentiment. I entirely agree with that. But they can\u2019t be independent if they\u2019re liable to denounced by politicians. I think that that is a serious mistake. It\u2019s a misjudgment on his part.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is particularly awkward for the Tories to have Lord Sumption criticising Jenrick on this because Sumption is one of the most prominent British judges advocating withdrawal from the European convention on human rights. His comments featured prominently<\/a> in the Lord Wolfson report on this issue.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Q: [From the Guardian] In your comments about Handsworth, weren\u2019t you imposing a white normative standard for what public life would look like? And what is the basis for saying the number of white people you see in an area is a good measure is a good measure of community integration?<\/p>\n Jenrick<\/strong> asks if the reporter has looked at the ONS population figures for that community.<\/p>\n (He ignores the fact that they were actually published in the Guardian\u2019s story.)<\/a><\/p>\n He goes on:<\/p>\n I was very clear in the remarks that I gave at that meeting, this is not about the colour of your skin or the faith that you abide by. It\u2019s that, wherever possible, I want communities to be well integrated, and for people of all faiths and skin colour to be living side by side in harmonious, well integrated communities. That does not happen in all parts of our country.<\/p>\n I do not want my children to grow up in a country where people of one skin colour live in one part of town, people of another skin colour live in another world, the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians have got their bits of town. Come on. We\u2019re better than that. This is Britain.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As the Guardian reported, Handsworth is mixed. Our story says:<\/p>\n The ethnicity of Handsworth is 25% Pakistani, 23% Indian, 10% Bangladeshi, 16% Black African or Black Caribbean, 10% mixed or other ethnic group and 9% white.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Andy Street<\/strong>, the former Tory mayor of the West Midlands, has also made this point forcefully. (See 8.13am<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jenrick says he did not mention Reform UK in his speech ‘because I don’t obsess about them’<\/p>\n A journalist asks Jenrick<\/strong> why he did not mention Reform UK<\/a> in his speech.<\/p>\n Jenrick replies:<\/p>\n Because I don\u2019t obsess about them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This was popular with the audience at the fringe meeting (though clearly disingenous \u2013 see 1.01am<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jenrick<\/strong> criticises the decision to prosecute a man who burned a a Qur\u2019an outside the Turkish consulate in London<\/a>. He says he does not approve of burning holy texts, but he thinks this person should not have been prosecuted. That is a free speech issue, he says.<\/p>\n\n
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