‘This is getting silly’: senior Tories criticise Simon Clarke after he calls for Sunak’s resignation – UK politics live | Politics

Labour would prosecute Amazon executives if they continued to allow dangerous knives to be sold on their platform, Keir Starmer has said this morning.

He made the announcement in a press release in which he said that, despite repeated promises by the government to ban “zombie knives”, a full ban has still not been implemented.

Starmer said knife crime was up by 70% since 2015 and he said Labour would implement a proper crackdown.

In its news release, Labour said:

Five months ago, Labour supported the government’s pledge to introduce new legislation to toughen the rules on possession of machetes and zombie-style knives. There has been no action since, only warnings from experts that the proposals are too weak by excluding weapons like ninja swords.

The government has published 16 press releases about zombie knives since 2015, yet despite repeated promises to toughen the rules, a full ban is still not in place …

Labour is going further by also pledging a crackdown on the sale of dangerous knives online. Rambo knives, swords and machetes are all too easily available through sites such as Knife Warehouse. Recent high-profile murder cases, such as the killing of Ronan Kanda, have shown verification measures such as ID checks have been easily subverted.

Labour has also long called for tough criminal sanctions on tech executives who allow knife sales on their online marketplaces, such as Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Instagram. This follows a Which investigation that identified repeated examples of knives for sale on these decentralised platforms, often listed by individual sellers abroad (e.g. the USA). In the Online Safety Act, the government simply opted for Ofcom fines for such breaches – but still hasn’t put that measure into force.

And Starmer said:

The number of these deadly weapons on Britain’s streets is terrifying, and unacceptable.

For years, the Tories have made grand promises of action, but by failing to bring a proper ban on these killer knives and to crack down on online sales to kids, they’re letting a generation down …

Labour will act. There will be nothing short of a ban by my Labour government. And we won’t stop there – we’ll crack down on online sales, too. No child should be able to buy a deadly weapon as easily as they can online today.

The Home Office has performed a U-turn on a policy to deprive some modern slavery victims of protection from traffickers, Diane Taylor reports.

Ministers have been urged to back an obscure compromise so that David Cameron can be scrutinised in the House of Commons despite not being an MP, PA Media reports.

The story is based on this report from the procedure committee which points out that, if Cameron were invited to take questions from MPs at the “bar” of the Commons (the thick line in the carpet, near the entrance, which marks the formal entrance to the chamber), he would be following in the footsteps of the Duke of Wellington. It says:

Until the first part of the 19th century, important inquiries were entrusted to committees of the whole house, with witnesses examined at the bar. Members of the Lords, while providing evidence, were given chairs within the bar but stood to answer questions. Indeed, there are several precedents for members of the Lords addressing the Commons directly from within the bar, as did Lord Melville in 1805, and the Duke of Wellington in 1814.

Nowadays, witnesses provide evidence to inquiries overseen by select committees. It has been more than 60 years since a non-member appeared at the bar of the house; the last instance was in 1957, when the journalist John Junor was admonished.

The government says it will consider the recommendation. But when Cameron, and No 10, have been asked about this issue, they have always insisted that Cameron is accountable anyway, because he takes questions from peers and from the Commons foreign affairs committee, and that Labour cabinet ministers in the Lords did not appear at the bar of the Commons chamber. It sounds like the recommendation will be shelved.

On the Today programme this morning Nick Robinson asked Kevin Hollinrake, the postal services minister, if he thought the Simon Clarke article was evidence of a “plot” to remove Rishi Sunak, or “an attempt of a coup”. Hollinrake gave a clear answer: “No, not at all.”

Clarke himself has denied acting on behalf of someone else with leadership ambitions. And sources close to Liz Truss have been telling journalists this morning that she did know that this article was coming, and does not support it. “God knows what he’s up to,” said one

But do we really believe that the article appeared out of the blue, and that Clarke just happened to ring up the Telegraph yesterday to offer his article unprompted? Here are five reasons to think that it is not that simple, and that some sort of plot is afoot.

1) Clarke published his article only a week after expensive polling was published showing the Conservatives on course for a landslide defeat. YouGov says the polling was commissioned by Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, and paid for by “the Conservative Britain Alliance”, a mysterious organisation apparently comprising party donors. No one has said who they are. We don’t know for sure why they put up the money (reportedly, a hefty five-figure sum), but it seems unlikely that they are disinterested psephologists.

2) The Telegraph wrote up the poll findings in a way that supports the view that changing the party leader would make a difference. News organisations often present polling in a subjective manner, but this was quite an extreme example – prompting YouGov to disown the Telegraph’s interpretation. Not for the first time, the paper seems to be shaping Conservative politics, not just reporting it.

3) Another tranche of polling has been published by the Telegraph today to back up Clarke’s argument. In its story on the Clarke article, the paper says:

A YouGov poll of 13,000 voters suggests that a new Tory leader, championing core Conservative values, could secure a convincing victory over Labour.

When people were asked who they would prefer as prime minister – Sir Keir or a new, tax-cutting Tory leader with a tougher approach to legal and illegal migration – voters in 322 constituencies in England and Wales preferred a new Tory leader, while Sir Keir came out on top in only 164 seats.

In 89 constituencies the most common answer was “not sure”. If the “not sure” respondents are stripped out, a new Tory is most popular in 375 constituencies to 200 …

The poll did not present respondents with names of possible alternative Tory leaders, but asked if they would prefer as prime minister: Sir Keir or a new Tory leader who was stronger on crime and migration, who cut taxes and got NHS waiting lists down.

This seems to be a finding from the YouGov MRP poll published last week. But why was it saved up for use alongside an article from an MP calling for a new leader, unless the paper was sure this was coming?

4) The Clarke article includes a phrase that suggests it was written for publication after January. This point has been raised by Christopher Hope, the GB News political editor, who posted these on X.

Clarke references the MRP poll in his @Telegraph op-ed tonight: “In January, the Telegraph’s YouGov MRP poll showed that were an election to be held, the Conservatives would fall from our current 350 MPs to 169, just four more seats than Sir John held in 1997.”

What is odd is that Clarke says “in January” in his @Telegraph article. Was this piece originally written with a view to it being published next month? Perhaps after a possible double by-election defeat on Feb 15th?

5) Next month Clarke is due to join Liz Truss at the launch of a new group, Popular Conservatism, dedicated to restoring “democratic accountability to Britain” (code for getting rid of PMs who have not been elected by party members, or the electorate at large?) and delivering “popular conservative policies”. This does not sound like an effort to shore up Sunak.

Last night Simon Clarke posted messages on X responding to the criticism he was getting from colleagues over his Telegraph article. He said “emphatically” that his call for Rishi Sunak to go was not motivated by a desire to secure the party leadership for himself, or for someone else.

I know I will be attacked for saying this.

Perhaps even accused of positioning myself or on behalf of another — emphatically neither of which I am doing.

I am speaking out because the stakes for our country and my party are too high to stay silent

Every Conservative MP will need to live with the decision they make in the coming days for the rest of their lives.

Failing to act would itself represent a decision.

Look at the polls.

Personal insults don’t change the facts.

I have no further comment to make.

No 10 has not responded to the Simon Clarke article, but Kevin Hollinrake, the postal services minister, and someone who has had a friendly relationship with Rishi Sunak for years, was doing the broadcast round this morning and he said Conservative MPs overwhelmingly disagreed with what Clarke said. He told Times Radio:

I don’t think [Clarke’s] right. I think the parliamentary party and the wider party is overwhelmingly in support of the prime minister. Quite rightly too. I don’t agree, I don’t think Simon’s right on this …

Of course, some people panic at a difficult time, but this is not the overwhelming view of the party.

Good morning. Until last night, the only Conservative MP publicly calling for Rishi Sunak to resign was Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a Boris Johnson acolyte who spent three and a half months as a junior minister. Even lobby correspondents would draw the line at calling her a “senior Tory” and no one paid much attention. But last night Sir Simon Clarke, who has served in cabinet under two prime ministers and who is not widely viewed as a crank, joined in, publishing an article in the Daily Telegraph saying the Tories should ditch Sunak before the general election.

Potentially, this takes the Conservative leadership crisis into new territory. Clarke is close to Liz Truss, the former PM, who is about to launch a new group called Popular Conservatism (sic), or PopCon. It does not seem committed to supporting Sunak’s leadership. Perhaps more importantly, Clarke seems to have the backing of an even more important player in Tory politics: the Daily Telegraph.

But … the early indications are that this could fail just as dismally as the Geoff Hoon/Patricia Hewitt “coup” against Gordon Brown in 2010. Clarke does not seem to have any Conservative MPs clambering out of the trenches behind him, and some proper senior Tories have lined up to attack him.

Priti Patel, the former home secretary, has accused him of “facile and divisive self-indulgence”.

At this critical time for our country, with challenges at home and abroad, our party must focus on the people we serve and deliver for the country. Engaging in facile and divisive self indulgence only serves our opponents, it’s time to unite and get on with the job.

Liam Fox, the former international trade secretary, says Clarke’s initiative makes a big defeat more likely.

This is not the time for self indulgence and tribalism in the party. Those who have an agenda to destabilise the government in an election year should understand the consequences. Having been on the front bench for all 13 years in opposition, it is a miserable place. Be warned.

David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, says Clarke is just being silly.

This is getting silly.

The Party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their own leadership ambitions ahead of the UK’s best interests.

It is really about time that these people realise they have a duty to the country that is greater than their personal leadership ambitions.

And Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, said:

My colleague Sir Simon Clarke MP is wrong. The way to win the next election is to tackle inflation and grow the economy.

Rishi is doing just that. Division and another PM would lead to the certain loss of power. We need to focus on delivering for the public not divisive rowing.

And the opposition parties can’t believe their luck. This is from Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator.

Labour will focus on serving the British people whilst the Tories form another circular firing squad.

There are many good reasons for getting rid of this clapped out Conservative government and liberating the British people from endless bouts of Tory infighting is certainly one of them.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Noon: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.

After 12.45pm: MPs debate all stages of the Northern Ireland (executive formation) bill, which gives more time for a power-sharing executive to be formed before elections have to be held because it has not happened.

Afternoon: MPs hold a general debate “on the situation in the Red Sea”.

If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a laptop or a desktop. This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting, too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line; privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate); or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.