Deirdre "Dee" Kelly (born 1971), [1] also known as White Dee, is a British television personality and actress. In 2014 and 2015 she appeared in the television documentary series Benefits Street, [2] [3] and in 2014 she took part in Celebrity Big Brother . [4] She plays Liz in the 2019 film Ray & Liz , directed by Richard Billingham. [5]
In 2014, Kelly spoke at a Policy Exchange fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992.
Grant Shapps is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from August 2023 to July 2024. Shapps previously served in various cabinet posts, including Conservative Party Co-Chairman, Transport Secretary, Home Secretary, Business Secretary, and Energy Secretary under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Welwyn Hatfield from 2005 to 2024. He was defeated and lost his seat in the 2024 general election.
Adam James Harold Holloway is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gravesham from 2005 to 2024. A Government Whip from September to October 2022, and previously an Assistant Government Whip from July to September 2022, he served on the Home Affairs Select Committee and European Scrutiny Committee. He was a vocal supporter of pro-Brexit lobby group Leave Means Leave.
Stephen Pollard is a British author and journalist. From 2008 until December 2021, he was the editor of The Jewish Chronicle and remains a senior advisor and writer on the paper.
Anthony Paul Bamford, Baron Bamford, is a British billionaire businessman who is the chairman of J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB). He succeeded his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, as chairman and managing director of the company in 1975, at the age of 30. He was knighted in 1990. Bamford has appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List, and in 2021 his net worth was estimated at US$9.48 billion. Bamford is a car collector whose collection includes two examples of the rare Ferrari 250 GTO, valued upwards of $70 million each.
The Conservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It takes place every year in October during the British party conference season, when the House of Commons is usually in recess. The event's location has alternated between Birmingham's International Convention Centre (ICC) and Manchester's Central Convention Complex since 2008. Previously, it had alternated between Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton. In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, where every party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online, has the right to vote on party policy, under a one-member, one vote system, or the Labour Party Conference, where 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations, and in which all voting is restricted to nominated representatives, the Conservative Party Conference does not hold votes on party policy.
The Daily Telegraph, known online and elsewhere as The Telegraph, is a British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier. The Telegraph is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", was included in its emblem which was used for over a century starting in 1858.
Claire Louise Perry O'Neill is a British businesswoman and former politician who is the managing director for climate and energy at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, having previously served as Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth from 2017 to 2019. Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Devizes in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2019.
Nadhim Zahawi is an Iraqi-born British former politician who served in various ministerial positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak from 2018 to 2023. He most recently served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 25 October 2022 until he was dismissed by Sunak on 29 January 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stratford-on-Avon from 2010 to 2024. Zahawi is perhaps most noted for being sacked as Conservative Party chairman for failing to adhere to the Ministerial Code, i.e. "to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety".
George William Freeman is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Norfolk since 2010. He previously served as Minister for Science, Research and Innovation from September 2021 until his resignation in July 2022, and again from October 2022 until November 2023.
Steven John Baker is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for Northern Ireland from 2022 to 2024 and as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office from February to July 2024, having previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wycombe in Buckinghamshire from 2010 to 2024. Baker was chair of the European Research Group (ERG) from 2016 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2020.
Daniel O'Reilly, otherwise known as Dapper Laughs, is a British social media content creator from Addlestone, Surrey.
Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party since November 2024. The first Black person to hold those offices, Badenoch previously served in the Cabinet under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from 2022 to 2024. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Essex, previously Saffron Walden, since 2017.
Ray & Liz is a 2018 British drama film written and directed by Richard Billingham in his feature debut. The film retells Billingham's troubled childhood growing up in a Black Country council flat during the Thatcher era. It focuses "on his parents Ray and Liz, their relationship, and its impact on Richard and his younger brother Jason." Billingham, a photographer, previously published the book Ray's a Laugh (1996), with photographs of his family at the time depicted in the film.
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.
Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 6 September 2022 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Boris Johnson, and ended 49 days later on 25 October upon her resignation. As prime minister, she served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union.
The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis.
In September and October 2022, the Conservative Party government led by newly appointed prime minister Liz Truss faced a credibility crisis. It was caused by the September 2022 mini-budget and a disorganised vote in the House of Commons over a parliamentary motion to ban fracking, ultimately resulting in the loss of support of Conservative members of parliament (MPs).