Politics latest: Conservative leadership race hots up as James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch launch campaigns on day MPs return to Parliament after summer recess

by Jason Grove and John-Paul Ford Rojas

Business confidence is collapsing under Labour, bosses warned last night.

Optimism about the economy has been ‘snuffed out’ by fears of a tax-raising Budget next month and concern about Labour’s plans for a union-friendly package of workers’ rights.

It fuels worries that downbeat statements on the economy from Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves risk becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Despite Britain recording the fastest growth in the G7, the Chancellor claimed last month that Labour had inherited ‘the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War’.

The Prime Minister said the situation was so bad that a ‘painful’ tax-raising Budget would be needed next month, adding: ‘Things will get worse before they get better.’

As the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as the Conservative Party leader hots up this week with campaign launches and the first ballot to whittle down the list of candidates, let’s take a look at the support for each candidate.

Many Conservatives said they wanted a longer leadership contest so candidates can prove how effective they will be in opposition so many MPs and grandees are yet to declare their number one choice.

But some leaders have already had endorsements from current and former colleagues so let’s take a look at the notable backers of those gunning to take on Sir Keir Starmer and a Labour government.

Courtesy of our Deputy Political Editor David Wilcock:

Conservative leadership contender has released a video ahead of his campaign speech this afternoon setting out how the party can return to power.

Mr Cleverly is expected to speak at 12.10pm and is the second Tory to launch his bid today after Kemi Badenoch.

The Tory leadership battle is gathering pace today as favourite Kemi Badenoch formally launches her bid – warning the party must ‘renew’ to claw back power.

Hopefuls are stepping up their campaigns with MPs set to whittle the field down from half a dozen to four over the next fortnight.

Alongside Ms Badenoch’s pitch, former home secretary James Cleverly will lay out his goal of abolishing stamp duty – designed to appeal to the party rank and file.

But while two will soon fall by the wayside the contest still has until November 2 to run, with complaints that the Conservatives are focused on infighting while Labour pushes through a slew of controversial policies.

Ms Badenoch will accuse Sir Keir Starmer’s administration of ‘trying to pull the wool over the eyes’ of voters on a raft of issues.

A senior Conservative and former cabinet minister has insisted Kemi Badenoch has the ‘energy and communication skills’ to take the fight to Labour at the despatch box in an early boost for her leadership launch.

Chris Philp, the shadow Commons leader, said he was picking Ms Badenoch out of ‘six really good candidates’ for the leadership.

I think she has a lot of conviction, a lot of integrity, but also a lot of courage to take on difficult issues when she needs to, to take on Keir Starmer and the Labour government as well.

They’ve made some terrible choices just in the last couple of months alone. And we need somebody with the energy and the communication skills who can take the fight to Labour.

I think Kemi can do that.

Mr Philp is one of five shadow cabinet ministers to back Ms Badenoch following endorsements from Julia Lopez, shadow culture minister, Andrew Griffith, shadow science minister, Alex Burghart, shadow Northern Ireland secretary and Laura Trott, shadow chief secretary.

Conservatives are set to try to block Labour’s plans to axe the winter fuel allowance for 10million pensioners – as the backlash over the controversial move grows.

The Tories and Liberal Democrats are pushing for a parliamentary vote this week on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plan to scale back the payments which are worth up to £300.

But a Government source said ministers would reject the call to scrutinise the measure, which has already been rushed through Parliament without a vote.

Yesterday, Ms Reeves defended the plan as the ‘right choice’, saying that savings were needed to fill a financial ‘black hole’ left by the Tories. ‘I know these are tough choices, especially on winter fuel,’ she wrote in The Observer. ‘They were not the choices I wanted to make or expected to make but they were the right choices to put our country on a firmer footing.’

Commons Leader Lucy Powell went further, claiming that Britain could have suffered a run on the pound without the measure, which is expected to save the taxpayer about £1.5billion a year.

A probe has been promised over the ‘dynamic pricing’ Oasis controversy which landed fans with tickets costing twice the price amid massive demand.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy vowed that the inflated selling of tickets for the Britpop band’s long-awaited reunion concerts would form part of a Government review of the secondary gig sales market.

Ticketmaster bosses have come under fire for their Uber-style ‘dynamic pricing’ which saw charges soar on Saturday – with music fans also turning on Oasis for raking in profits from the ticketing system.

An estimated 14million fans spent the day desperately battling to secure tickets to see brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher reunite on stage for a mammoth tour around the UK and Ireland next year.

But many were left raging after the price of standing tickets went up from £150 face value to £355 within hours.

The death of headteacher Ruth Perry made the need for Ofsted reform “absolutely clear”, Ms Phillipson said.

Her remarks come after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to Ms Perry’s death.

Speaking on the morning interview round, Ms Phillipson told Sky News:

I have met on a number of occasions with Julia Waters, who is Ruth’s sister, and spoken about the family’s experience and the tragedy of Ruth’s death – and what the family has been through – which is beyond words.

What I should, however, point out is that I have been talking some time ahead of the news becoming public about Ruth’s tragic death about the need for reform of Ofsted.

I have been clear for some time that change was needed. I made the announcement of our position that we would end the one word judgments ahead of that news becoming public.

I think what Ruth’s death did do, and the campaigning work of Julia and the family, was to shine a light on the need for reform, and to make absolutely clear that we need a better system for families, for parents, and for children, but also for staff within our schools as well.

Ms Perry was headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading when she killed herself in January 2023, 54 days after Ofsted inspectors told her they planned to downgrade the school from outstanding to the lowest grade – inadequate.

Bridget Phillipson has today insisted a new report card system will provide parents with more information than one-word judgments.

Ms Phillipson told Sky News that single headline Ofsted grades will be scrapped with immediate effect.

We’re going to move towards a better system that better captures a school’s strengths, but also areas for improvement, in the form of a report card that will commence next September

But at the start of this academic year we are today making that change because I believe that parents need more information about what goes on within our schools.

The system we have got at the moment just isn’t working, it’s too high stakes and it does not have a sharp enough focus on how we drive up standards in our schools.

From today, all new school inspections will no longer brand them ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.

Instead, schools will get ratings for individual sub-categories – and from next year the grading system could be scrapped altogether.

Two out of six Conservative leadership contenders are launching their campaigns today as MPs return to Westminster after the summer recess.

Kemi Badenoch is up first this morning as she launches her bid to succeed Rishi Sunak at 11am in what is expected to be a withering attack on Labour’s first months in power.

James Cleverly will also give a speech this afternoon to lead the Conservatives into the next general election and has pledged to abolish stamp duty on all homes.

They will be competing alongside Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhadt who all secured enough nominations for the party leadership.

On Wednesday, the first MP ballot will take place to eliminate the candidate with the fewest number of votes dropping out, with a second ballot reducing the field to four candidates on September 10.

The final four candidates will then participate in what’s been described as a “beauty parade” in front of Tory members at the party’s conference at the end of this month.

The Conservative Party’s wider membership will then vote with the winner announced on November 2.

Tory leadership favourite Kemi Badenoch will today launch her campaign with a blistering attack on the ‘clueless, irresponsible and dishonest’ Labour government.

The former Business Secretary will use a speech in Westminster to accuse Sir Keir Starmer’s administration of ‘trying to pull the wool over the eyes’ of voters on a raft of issues.

She is also expected to insist that Labour will ‘fail’ and that the public is already ‘yearning for something better’ after less than 60 days of Sir Keir in Downing Street.

Former Home Secretary James Cleverly will simultaneously launch his campaign with an address centred more around policy and principles.

He will insist that only ‘Conservative solutions’ can solve the challenges facing Britain while arguing for a smaller state that does ‘fewer things very well, not everything badly.’

Labour will scrap one-word Ofsted judgments despite warnings it could harm pupils by dumbing down standards.

From today, all new school inspections will no longer brand them ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.

Instead, schools will get ratings for individual sub-categories – and from next year the grading system could be scrapped altogether.

The move has delighted teaching unions, which have campaigned for it but were snubbed by the previous Tory government. Yesterday, shadow education secretary Damian Hinds said scrapping the ‘vital’ headline inspection outcome ‘is not in the best interest of pupils or parents’.

And former Tory schools minister Nick Gibb added: ‘If the Ofsted judgments are not crystal clear, the danger is they cease to be something parents look at when choosing a school. You run the risk of overall standards declining.’

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as MPs return to Westminster after summer recess.

Today, Conservative leadership contenders James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch will launch their campaigns to succeed Rishi Sunak and become Leader of the Opposition.

While, Sir Keir Starmer will visit a school in London after Labour announced it would scrap one-word Ofsted judgments despite warnings it could harm pupils by dumbing down standards.

MPs are expected to return to the House of Commons this afternoon in what could be a busy first week back in Parliament.

We will bring you all the latest developments and reaction throughout the day.