Our top ten picks of the week

The Tories should be wary of revelling in Yusuf’s Reform departure

Tali Fraser

“Badenoch’s response was that “Reform is not a political party. It is a fan club”. But there are regular complaints that the Tory leader’s rewarding of loyalty has seen friends in undeserved top jobs and failing to perform.”

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Starmer’s pathological inability to cut spending will cost Britain dear

Daniel Hannan

“On the evidence to date, he will instead make a panicked grab for more revenue. There will be taxes on houses, assets, pensions and inheritance, maybe even a Cyprus-style top-slicing of bank accounts.”

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Labour have paid a huge price tag just to damage British interests and please lefty lawyers

Priti Patel

“Labour have also negotiated the Chagos deal in secret from the get go, and refused to provide answers to our questions. But we know, not from our own government, but from the Prime Minister of Mauritius that Labour kept giving them more concessions at every step.”

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Opponents of the looming shift in immigration policy will have to do better than lectures

Henry Hill

“It’s always nice to pretend one’s opponents are objectively wrong, but this debate is a clash of different value judgements at least as much as a dispute over facts.”

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Conservatives understand the moral and political power of homeownership

Simon Clarke

“We need to face up to the hard truth that every planning rejection in a high-demand area is not just a lost home—it is a lost voter, a lost future, and a fraying thread in the Conservative social contract. This is not about abandoning our principles. It is about applying them.”

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The Sentencing Review does not propose soft justice but tackles a problem every party must care about

David Gauke

“If the Conservatives had won last year’s General Election, a similar review process would’ve been needed.  Our proposals on short sentences are similar to those in the Sentencing Bill which was under the Conservatives but – regardless of party, this is a problem that has to be addressed.”

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The allure of the “silver bullet solution” has never been stronger but it’s as reliable as snake oil

Giles Dilnot

“Real delivered success is actually best achieved through a multitude of individually unimpressive small shots rather than a single bullet. Although nobody wants to hear that and politicians don’t want to say that – they should. Conservatives should, because it’s true.”

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The Conservatives locally need to rediscover our values. Not just wait for change nationally

Steve Harden

“We have the principles, the experience, and most importantly, the people. We just need the bravery to act to save our party.”

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“He made himself look bad doing it, but he’s made himself look even worse going back on it”- my latest focus groups

Lord Ashcroft

“Criticism of the Labour Government included “There’s no thought and no strategic plan. It’s like a tombola of ideas. They just chuck it out and see what works. And then they say, ‘oh, that didn’t work, we’ll do a U-turn and say we’re listening and that will be great PR’”

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Conservatives need to unlearn the slow-and-steady habits of government

Henry Hill

“The Wolfson review is a sensible first step on a big subject like potentially quitting the ECHR – but it isn’t going to wrest the spotlight or the initiative back to the party anytime soon.”

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