Newslinks for Thursday 24th July 2025

Kemi talks, and Tory membership reportedly takes a tumble

“Kemi Badenoch has said she wants to be Britain’s Javier Milei as she held up Argentina’s state-slashing president as the economic and political template to revive the UK and her own flagging party. In an interview with the Financial Times, the Conservative leader was asked whether Britain needed a Milei, who has brandished chainsaws to illustrate his zeal for cutting spending, and whether she was such a politician. “Yes and yes,” she replied. She also warned her party against following Nigel Farage’s Reform UK down the path of anger and despair. “We cannot be a repository for disenchantment,” she said. Conservatism had to be about “offering hope, fixing problems”. The Tory leader, whose party is languishing in third place in opinion polls behind Reform and Labour, said she would champion a leaner state and fight Labour’s tax rises, as she sharpens her party’s economic message. Badenoch said Milei, who has cut spending, liberalised trade and reduced inflation since becoming Argentina’s president in 2023, was honest with voters about his plans and is now delivering results. “Milei is the template,” she said. In an interview in her spartan, wood-panelled House of Commons office, Badenoch dismissed Westminister talk that time was running out on her leadership. “I can’t spend all my time worrying about regicide. I would lose my mind,” she said, adding: “I’m so thick-skinned to the point where I don’t even notice if people are trying to create harm. That’s extremely useful in this job.”” – Financial Times

• Tories must ‘offer hope’ in face of Reform threat – Badenoch – BBC News
• Kemi Badenoch: I want to be Britain’s Javier Milei – Daily Telegraph
• Tory membership plummets under Kemi Badenoch in wake of Farage threat – Daily Express

Comment:

• With Cleverly centre stage, the Tories have a new look – but that isn’t the same as a plan – Martin Kettle, The Guardian

> Today: Badenoch, Milei, and the conservatism of words versus deeds

> Yesterday: The Tories and Labour are ‘making plans for Nigel’ but only one might scupper ‘what’s best for him’

Summer of discontent

“Police will be dragged away from neighbourhood duties to keep the peace at protests over migrants amid mounting fears of a summer of unrest, the organisation representing rank-and-file officers has warned. After days of protests against mass migration outside asylum hotels, with more planned in the coming weeks, there are fears the UK could be heading for another summer of violent disorder. Writing for The Telegraph, below, Tiff Lynch, the head of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said officers were being “pulled in every direction” and commanders were “forced to choose between keeping the peace at home or plugging national gaps”. Unrest in Epping, Essex, was a “signal flare” for more to come, Ms Lynch said. The federation said that already-underfunded police forces would be forced to take officers away from neighbourhood duties to manage anti-migrant protests that turned violent. Like senior officers, Ms Lynch insisted police would cope with any challenges ahead. Official figures released by the Home Office show that the number of bobbies on the beat has already fallen to a record low. The number of officers in local policing has dropped from a peak of 67,785 in 2023 to 58,002 in 2025, according to the data. It comes after Essex Police came under fire for escorting anti-racism protesters to the Bell Hotel in Epping, where violence subsequently broke out.” – Daily Telegraph

• Met Police attend second night of protests at Canary Wharf hotel set to house migrants – The Standard
• Neo-Nazis leading Epping hotel protests call for nationwide action – The Times
• Pro-migration protest group escorted by police is funded by trade unions – Daily Telegraph
• Huge metal barriers ‘to keep protesters away’ put up around luxury hotel set to house asylum seekers…and paid for by you – The Sun

Comment:

• Cops escorting lefties in to Epping to battle angry locals protesting over migrant hotel proves two tier policing exists – Rod Liddle, The Sun
• Incredibly, Essex Police have just made a bad situation worse – Ian Acheson, Daily Telegraph
• We’ve been silenced on mass migration and the nation’s furious. All it will take is one spark and tinderbox Britain will go up in flames – Frank Furedi, Daily Mail
• Epping is far from only place where public anger is spilling over at £5.7m spent daily on migrant hotels – The Sun
• Labour’s grotesque lies about illegal migration are finally being exposed – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph
• Did Essex Police ‘bus in’ counter-protesters? – Tom Jones, Unherd
• Two-tier policing has arrived in Epping – Laurie Wastell, The Spectator

> Yesterday: Grace Lunn: Reform can’t admit that immigration is merely a symptom of Britain’s real problems

Asylum seekers gambling away taxpayers money

“The Home Office has launched an investigation after PoliticsHome revealed that asylum seekers across the UK have been using taxpayer-funded payment cards for gambling. When asylum seekers enter the UK, they are given an ‘ASPEN’ card by the Home Office. These are used for spending on essential items while they wait for a decision on their asylum claim. Those living in ‘initial accommodation’ – usually fully catered hotels – are given £9.95 a week on their ASPEN card. When asylum seekers are moved to self-catered accommodation, they are given £49.18 a week. These cards are intended for food, toiletries, clothes and other necessities. However, some asylum seekers have successfully used ASPEN cards to gamble, PoliticsHome has learned. According to data received in response to a Freedom of Information request, 6,537 asylum seekers have used ASPEN cards in gambling settings in the past year across the UK, with attempts being made on a weekly basis.” – PoliticsHome

• Outrage as luxury £425 a night hotel paid for by YOU taken over to house asylum seekers in ‘insult to law-abiding Brits’ – The Sun
• Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits: More than 6,000 migrants used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos in past year – Daily Mail
• The nationalities claiming asylum that could face visa crackdown – The i

Doctors decline cheaper lunches in favour of strikes

“Wes Streeting offered resident doctors cheaper lunches in a last-ditch effort to avert strike action – but they still rejected a deal. The Sun can reveal the Health Secretary’s final snubbed offer to the British Medical Association ahead of tomorrow’s five-day walkout. Mr Streeting also stressed a £100million investment in post-graduate training places in 2027/28. A letter sent on Monday – since rejected – said: “We can resolve this dispute without the need for strike action, and I urge you to seriously consider my offer for a way forward. “Postponing your strike action to allow discussions to take place does not cost you anything, and your mandate to undertake strike action remains intact.” Striking doctors could be heading for their lowest picket line turnout since the pay row began.” – The Sun

• Why furious health bosses are braced for painful battle with BMA – The Times

Comment:

• UK is drowning in debt but striking junior doctors want huge pay rises – patients died last time before 22% increase – Ross Clark, The Sun

News in brief:

• Who are you calling a terrorist? Violence is built into civilisation – Terry Eagleton, Unherd
• Can anything stop Reform? – Tim Shipman, The Spectator
• Tactical nukes are making nuclear war thinkable again – Eliot Wilson, CapX
• Make 16-year-olds adults again – Jimmy Nicholls, The Critic