New Conservatives (UK)

Last updated

New Conservatives
President John Hayes
Chairpersons Danny Kruger
Miriam Cates
Founded21 May 2023;21 months ago (2023-05-21)
Ideology National conservatism
Social conservatism [1]
Euroscepticism
Political position Right-wing [1]
National affiliation Conservative Party
Colours  Blue
House of Commons
(Conservative seats)
3 / 121
Website
www.thenewconservatives.co.uk

The New Conservatives are a parliamentary group of predominantly red wall [2] Conservative MPs who aimed to shape the Conservative Party's policies ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election. [3] Politico described the group as having 25 members in July 2023. [4]

Contents

History

The group was created on Sunday, 21 May 2023, [3] [5] and has no official leader, although the co-founders, the former Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Miriam Cates and the former Devizes MP Danny Kruger are the chairs behind the initiative. [3] [6]

In October 2023, the group proposed banning "gender ideology" within state schools as one of their platforms. [7]

In November 2023, it was reported by Sky News that the group had met to discuss Suella Braverman potentially "making a play" for a Conservative party leadership. [8]

Policies

The group describes itself as wishing to return to the Conservative Party's 2019 manifesto. [9] Politico by cutting immigration to below 226,000, as well as focusing on law and order and to tackle perceived bias in education. [10]

10-point policy

The New Conservatives' primary goals are listed in their 10-point plan, which consists of the following: [11]

  1. Closing temporary schemes that grant work visa eligibility for care workers and senior care workers.
  2. Raising the minimum income required to gain a skilled work visa.
  3. Extending the closure of the student dependant route.
  4. Closing the graduate route to students.
  5. Reserving university Study Visas for the brightest international students.
  6. Monitoring the reduction in visa applications under the humanitarian schemes.
  7. Implementing the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill rapidly.
  8. Capping the number of refugees legally accepted for resettlement in the UK.
  9. Raising the minimum combined income threshold for sponsoring a spouse and raising the minimum language requirement.
  10. Capping the amount of social housing that councils may assign to non-UK nationals.

Membership

The group was originally made up of 24 Conservative MPs elected primarily after the Brexit referendum, [3] [12] [13] however only three members have retained their seats.

MPConstituencyNotes
Danny Kruger East Wiltshire Elected 2019
Gareth Bacon Orpington Elected 2019
John Hayes South Holland and The Deepings President of group, [14] elected 1997

Former members

MPReason
Lee Anderson Defected to Reform UK
Eddie Hughes Lost election to new seat
Lia Nici Lost re-election
Robin Millar Lost re-election
Marco Longhi Lost re-election
Andrew Lewer Lost re-election
Mark Jenkinson Lost re-election
Anna Firth Lost re-election
Chris Green Lost re-election
Brendan Clarke-Smith Lost re-election
James Daly Lost re-election
Paul Bristow Lost re-election
Duncan Baker Lost re-election
Tom Hunt Lost re-election
Sarah Atherton Lost re-election
Nick Fletcher Lost re-election
Alexander Stafford Lost re-election
Jonathan Gullis Lost re-election
Miriam Cates Lost re-election

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sparrow, Andrew (11 March 2024). "Both Labour and group of Conservative MPs say Lee Anderson defection highlights Tory failings – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2024. The New Conservatives, a group of rightwing, socially conservative MPs ...
  2. ↑ Walker, Peter (3 July 2023). "New Conservatives' immigration policy raises questions over Sunak's authority". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Langford, Eleanor (3 July 2023). "The 'New Conservatives' and their 12-point plan to pressure Rishi Sunak on migration, explained". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Meet the New Conservatives giving Rishi Sunak a migration headache". POLITICO. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Langford, Eleanor (21 May 2023). "New Tory lobby group to pressure Sunak on migration ahead of expected record figures". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Who are the New Conservatives?". Yahoo News. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "New Conservatives group demands migration curbs and school 'gender ideology' ban". Worcester News. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Reshuffle latest: Braverman sacking 'not over protests article - it was homelessness comments'". Sky News. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Tory MPs issue plan for Rishi Sunak to slash migration". BBC News. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Meet the New Conservatives giving Rishi Sunak a migration headache". POLITICO. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Politics UK". Twitter. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Meet the New Conservatives giving Rishi Sunak a migration headache". POLITICO. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "Who are the Popular Conservatives - and how do they compare to other Tory movements?". Sky News. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  14. ↑ Cunliffe, Rachel (9 March 2024). "John Hayes: "Tory voters want full-fat Conservatism"". New Statesman. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
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