๐ณ๏ธ Last year I tried to become an MP, but events did not conspire in my favour.
Hereโs what I learned from all the debates, travelling, abuse, death threats - and the lessons for Conservatives as the party looks to the future.
Column in
@thetimes
๐ช Britain urgently needs a new deal for parents
Our birth rate is collapsing and women want to have more children than they're able to. We need to tackle access to fertility treatment, childcare, housing and the tax system.
Column in today's
@thetimes
๐จ NEW: Candidate nominations for the general election are now closed
We will receive the full candidate list shortly - it's unclear whether the Tories have been able to select a candidate in every seat
๐จ NEW: Former FT journalist turned wannabe Tory MP Sebastian Payne has LOST his bid to become the Tory candidate for Bromsgrove
Payne has now failed three times to become a candidate
[
@christiancalgie
]
๐ต BOGNOR REGIS & LITTLEHAMPTON (Con 50th safest): the shortlist for this selection is, I'm told:
Ali Griffiths, former fund-raiser for
Theresa May leadership
campaign;
Sarah Payne, county councillor,
owns Cocoa Loco;
Tim Chatwin, former David
Cameron spad.
๐ตSURREY HEATH: It seems Seb Payne lost to Ed McGuinness by just two votes. Someone present tonight writes: "Seb was top in the first round of voting (when Anna got knocked out). And then in the second round there were only two votes in it. Had to go through two recounts."
"It would be fantastic to be selected for somewhere."
@SebastianEPayne
reveals to Ali Miraj that he is yet to be picked by the Tory Party for a candidacy at this General Election.
๐ฐ Labour has a ยฃ28bn-shaped problem
The party's unfunded spending on green energy is already causing headaches. It can't dodge the question much longer on whether it's coming from spending cuts or taxes.
Latest
@theipaper
column on a big issue in 2024
๐ณ๏ธ Last year I tried to become an MP, but events did not conspire in my favour.
Hereโs what I learned from all the debates, travelling, abuse, death threats - and the lessons for Conservatives as the party looks to the future.
Column in
@thetimes
'Reform is an easy vote'.
Director of Onward,
@SebastianEPayne
, talks about why Conservative voters are switching to Reformโฌ๏ธ
#TrevorPhillips
๐บ Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: blueberry cheesecake from Bon Bouche.
A surprise return for a cake trolley classic, in more potent form. Excellent texture and strong topping.
Team Onward rating: 8.4/10.
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: Slinky from Tesco.
Taking a gamble with a twist on a classic, this overly sweet offering was roundly rejected by the office. Few fans despite the cheerful demeanour.
Team Onward rating: 6.2/10.
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: chocolate cake from Waitrose.
Scores were a bit of a fudge this week, with some folks confused about the rules of engagement with a birthday cake on a day with no birthdays. But ultimately, it was on par.
Team Onward rating: 7.1/10.
Conservative candidate for Surrey Heath Ed McGuinness claims to have a home in the constituency, posting pictures of him holding the keys to an Airbnb (2024)
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: Cecil from Waitrose.
Our pure chocolate imagination had high hopes for this, but it didnโt provide the golden ticket the we were hoping for. It at least offered some value for money.
Team Onward rating: 6.7/10.
If there is one thing I could wish for, is if someone from the media could please ask Seb Payne during an interview about his seat selections & reference this account
๐ฐ This week on
@ukonward
cake trolley: Red Velvet from Marks and Spencer.
The return of a red-tinged office favourite, albeit with a little more disappointment. Although the substance was tasteful, the topping was deemed too sweet and sickly.
Team Onward rating: 7.4/10.
๐ต BOGNOR REGIS & LITTLEHAMPTON (Con 50th safest): the shortlist for this selection is, I'm told:
Ali Griffiths, former fund-raiser for
Theresa May leadership
campaign;
Sarah Payne, county councillor,
owns Cocoa Loco;
Tim Chatwin, former David
Cameron spad.
9 of out of 10 constituencies want immigration cut:
Clacton in Essex is the most hawkish with 67% wanting lower numbers.
Bristol Central is the most liberal, with 55% wanting fewer controls
Preview of
@ukonward
's new report Reality Check in
@Telegraph
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: home baked Toblerone cake.
After missing in action last week, the office decided it wanted its cake back. The result was unapologetically positive, with strong ratings for a sweet top and base.
Team Onward rating: 8.8/10.
Tonight in Kentish Town,
@jackantonoff
โs
@bleachersmusic
were joyous and utterly fantastic. More upbeat and joyful than anything else around - even more so than their tour last year.
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: raspberry cheese cake from the Royal Artesian Bakery.
This looked beguiling from the outside, but turned out to be too much too quickly with a crazy design. Frosty reception across the office.
Team Onward rating: 6.9/10.
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: mince cake from Bon Bouche.
We attempted another relaunch today with a different format but it ultimately didnโt prove any more popular than previous incarnations. Overly sweet and too stodgy.
Team Onward rating: 5.8/10.
"How do we restitch politics, โdisagreeing wellโ as a society and avoiding the terrifyingly toxic mutual mistrust now common in America?" - preview of tomorrow's
#Restitch24
conference in Coventry with
@ukonward
@createstreets
@LabourTogether
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: orange cake from Greek 2 Go.
Not a cheerful start to the new year. The first mouthful was deliciously sweet, but proved too much in later helpings. Concerns rife about the repetition.
Team Onward rating: 5.2/10.
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: Tesco finest Victoria sponge.
A national institution that has often received criticism, but overturned in this new, better form with an injection of sweetness and consistent texture.
Team Onward rating: 7.7/10.
Labour has realised that ยฃ28bn is a major problem for the party. But scaling back or scrapping the pledge will come with political costs - as I highlighted in my recent column
I wonder if weโre going to look back on this era of childrenโs unfettered smartphone/online/social media use and wonder what weโve done to a whole generation. Haidt very compelling here and more convincing than his critics ๐
Delighted that a new flexible form of national service will be in the Conservative manifesto, as
@ukonward
has called for.
Last year,
@ahawksbee
and
@Valen10Francois
examined what has worked what a new opt-out Great British National Service could look like ๐งต
๐ณ With a summer election (and leadership challenge) fading away, and an autumn poll looking more likely, Rishi Sunak has breathing space. What should he do?
Latest
@theipaper
column on what the PM should do on migration, pensions, dentistry and prisons
๐ฐ What should Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt focus on in Marchโs Budget?
โ 1p off on income tax and raising the thresholds
โ Stamp duty reform
โ Expanding full expensing
โ ๏ธ Inheritance tax for now
Latest
@theipaper
column
Liam Gallagher outstanding this evening performing Definitely Maybe, biblical you might say. Having seen Oasis in about four combinations solo and together, this was by far the most electric and energetic.
With Rishi Sunak confirming that the election will be held in 2024,
@ukonward
will be focusing our new team and research on these five key areas next year:
1๏ธโฃ New Deal for Parents
2๏ธโฃ Talent, Skills, Opportunity
3๏ธโฃ Energy and Environment
4๏ธโฃ Science Superpower
5๏ธโฃ Future Politics
Jeremy Hunt has made the best of a bad hand, prioritising tax cuts for working families and investing in levelling up. But it's clear that the Chancellor had little room for manoveur - and he was right to call Labour's bluff.
The challenge now is how to really get growth going.
๐ต BASILDON & BILLERICAY: and the expectation is that one contender at 8pm tonight will be Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden. What tricks these major parties play.
๐ด ISLINGTON NORTH: applications have opened for Jeremy Corbyn's seat - what's will perhaps be the most controversial and hotly-contested Labour selection of all. Deadline is 20 May.
๐ต NORTH EAST HERTFORDSHIRE: I wonder what attracted Sebastian Payne and Nikki Da Costa to this constituency today? Maybe they'd noticed that Sir Oliver Heald is standing down.
๐ต Rejection letters for the Conservative selections in North East Hertfordshire & Mid Bedfordshire seem to have gone out today. Can anyone please DM me with some or all of those contenders who made the long-lists?
๐ฐ This week on the
@ukonward
cake trolley: almond and cherry cake from Bon Bouche.
After the dual disappointment of last weekโs offering, this single slice of sweetness revitalised the officeโs enthusiasm and was universally well received.
Team Onward rating: 8.2/10.
๐ณ๏ธ Those who think Lee Anderson is the red wall "made flesh" are lazy and condescending. They've scarcely made the effort to understand what happened in 2019.
Latest
@theipaper
column on why the Tories should not try and chase Reform's tail
Incredibly special to see Donald Campbellโs Bluebird at the Ruskin Museum. Met Bill Smith of the
@bluebirdk7
project years ago and itโs amazing to see the fruits of his two decades of work to restore this amazing machine. Hope it runs again on Coniston Water soon.
๐ต Oust Sunak or Tories face election massacre, warns former Cabinet ally
A YouGov poll suggests that a new Tory leader could secure a convincing victory over Labour
Read more โฌ๏ธ
๐ฃ๏ธ Thrilled to announce three new policy fellows joining
@ukonward
's research programmes:
-
@EdwardWinfield
was chief to staff to the ex-environment secretary Thรฉrรจse Coffey. He's leading on research on access to nature as part of our 'Getting to Zero' programme.
๐จ NEW: CCHQ invited Tory candidates to a call with Jeremy Hunt and James Cleverly at 20:30, but it was actually at 19:30, so most candidates missed it
[
@adampayne26
]
Consequences of this are huge. The BBC's push notifications shape how people see the news far more than any newspaper splash โ and that's before you consider the millions more outside the UK who see them.
Just a few days left to apply for one of the best opportunities for young British journalists. What an amazing year to write about politics at The Washington Post