Britain's former home secretary James Cleverly is seeking the top Tory job. Getty Images
Britain's former home secretary James Cleverly is seeking the top Tory job. Getty Images
Britain's former home secretary James Cleverly is seeking the top Tory job. Getty Images
Britain's former home secretary James Cleverly is seeking the top Tory job. Getty Images

James Cleverly becomes first to launch Tory leadership bid


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Former home secretary James Cleverly has declared his candidacy in the race to replace Rishi Sunak, becoming the first politician to enter the Tory leadership contest.

Making his opening pitch on Tuesday, the shadow home secretary said he could “unite the Conservative Party and overturn [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer’s loveless landslide”.

Nominations in the contest open on Wednesday and there could be a crowded field, with Mr Cleverly acknowledging he is not the only hopeful giving it “serious thought”.

In a post on social media, he said he was running to “restore the confidence of the British people in us as a party” and “re-establish our reputation” as a party that “helps grow the economy, helps people achieve their goals, their dreams and their aspirations”.

“Over the next Parliament, we must not descend into the infighting, navel-gazing and the internecine manoeuvrings at Westminster that plagued us in government," he said, writing in the Daily Telegraph.

“In opposition we must be unified and disciplined, resolute in the job of holding the Labour Party to account on their promises.”

Jostling is under way to replace Mr Sunak as the Tories try to rebuild in opposition after the General Election mauling.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman is widely expected to launch a bid to lead the party from the right and has warned the Tories must not become “a collection of fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks”.

Earlier on Tuesday, she used a slot guest-hosting a radio programme to say “we had quite a centrist Conservative agenda” and that “identity politics got out of control” under Mr Sunak.

“We need to be a party that’s firm and credible on immigration,” Ms Braverman told LBC listeners.

“We need to give some hope to the British people on taxation, robust on security and defence, and a real champion for common-sense British values.

"None of this divisive identity politics and woke nonsense. It really frustrates me that that has happened on our watch.”

Ms Braverman dodged a caller’s question on whether she would throw her hat in the ring.

Conservative Party big hitters who have lost their seats - in pictures

Other potential leadership contenders include shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch, former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

Under plans drawn up by the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs and the party board, the Tories will elect their new leader on November 2.

Nominations will open on Wednesday evening and close in the afternoon on July 29.

The parliamentary party will then narrow the field down to four, who will make their case at the Conservative Party Conference, which runs from September 29 to October 2.

The final two, picked by the parliamentary party, will then be voted on by Conservative Party members in an online ballot that will close on October 31.

The result will be announced on November 2.

Bob Blackman, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said he was determined that the leadership debate be “respectful and thorough”, and warned against the contest descending into “personal attacks”.

Mr Sunak, who will remain acting leader until a successor is appointed, has given his backing to the plans and said a “smooth and orderly transition” is in the “national interest”.

In numbers

- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100

- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100

- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India

- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100

- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

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Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S23%20ULTRA
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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars

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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
 

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

RESULT

Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EXPATS
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Updated: July 23, 2024, 10:30 PM`