Tali Fraser

2 weeks ago | conservativehome.com | Tali Fraser

How do you feel about an estimated £9bn bill heading in taxpayers direction only to hand over British territory? Because that moment has come: this morning Sir Keir Starmer is set to, in a virtual ceremony, sign a deal surrendering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands – officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory – to Mauritius at taxpayers’ expense.

2 weeks ago | conservativehome.com | Tali Fraser

In The Dorchester Hotel, hordes of Tory politicians, members and donors met for The Spring Lunch last week, supporting Conservative marginal seats and Women2Win. Tables cost a pretty penny, people were paying for raffle items and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, by all accounts, gave a stirring speech on the state of the party and where it goes next. The only thing is that – even for those who enjoyed the speech – people had their minds elsewhere.

3 weeks ago | conservativehome.com | Tali Fraser

3 weeks ago | conservativehome.com | Henry Hill |Tali Fraser

You may have noticed your eyes immediately scan downwards to the minus numbers when looking at our latest Shadow Cabinet league table. That is because ten shadow cabinet minister have fallen into negative ratings; only just avoiding April 2024’s record of 12 disappointed members sinking into the pink chart. In last month’s Shadow Cabinet league table there were just five people who found themselves in minus numbers, so that’s a very quick doubling.

3 weeks ago | conservativehome.com | Tali Fraser

Please excuse me, for I am about to entirely steal a phrase from Conservative MP and former health minister Neil O’Brien: there is a “data desert” when it comes to government and immigration. Statistics from DWP and HMRC on welfare claims by nationality and the amount of tax paid by nationality (including data on tax credit and child benefit claims), once regularly reported, have been going unpublished – and without real explanation. This is not exactly a new phenomenon.