Sleaze allegations haunt Tory leadership contest
The Independent|September 08, 2024
The question “do Tory MPs fix leadership votes with dirty tricks?” is usually on a par with “is the Pope a Catholic?” or “do bears shit in the woods?”.
DAVID MADDOX
Sleaze allegations haunt Tory leadership contest

It is obvious and it happens every time even if it takes place in secret.

So it is of no surprise to anybody that allegations are already being expressed that vote fixing took place in the first round of the current Tory leadership competition.

The suspicions surround former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride who, while seen as a decent chap, is not seen as a serious candidate to replace Rishi Sunak.

Somehow, he managed to get enough Tory MPs to put him on the original ballot and then he got 16 votes, one more than Priti Patel in the first round – meaning the former home secretary was the one who was eliminated.

This was achieved even though Mr Stride has not even had an official leadership campaign launch yet.

Mr Stride now has one of the other early favourites in his sights, former security minister Tom Tugendhat, who only managed to get one more vote, with 17 in the first round.

Essentially, Tory leadership vote fixing is the practice by one of the frontrunners of lending votes to a much less popular candidate who can then be moved up to take out a more serious rival.

This can happen because the Tory MPs get to decide who the final two are before members vote in an open contest.

There have been strong allegations of this happening before. Infamously, MPs supporting Boris Johnson supposedly switched to Jeremy Hunt to ensure he kept Michael Gove out of the final two in 2019. Mr Gove was seen as the bigger threat to Mr Johnson.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 08, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 08, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
All Blacks offer benchmark for Irish great expectations
The Independent

All Blacks offer benchmark for Irish great expectations

Victory for Ireland over New Zealand this evening won't wash away the pain of 14 October 2023.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Arteta's vision for Arsenal at a crossroads after Edu exit
The Independent

Arteta's vision for Arsenal at a crossroads after Edu exit

Arsenal have become unaccustomed to being underdogs.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Centre stage for England's most in-form midfielder
The Independent

Centre stage for England's most in-form midfielder

After becoming a parent, after earning a place in the tabletopping team, after a stellar player-of-the-match performance in a high-profile game and after providing one of the Champions League highlights of the week, Curtis Jones has another milestone occasion in his sights: a first senior international cap for England.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
United win ends year-long wait for success in Europe
The Independent

United win ends year-long wait for success in Europe

For a club who have been champions of Europe three times, a win in continental competition really shouldn’t be such a rarity.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Hoorah for interest cut but we need another one soon
The Independent

Hoorah for interest cut but we need another one soon

After a turbulent few weeks, the Bank of England yesterday delivered a soothing balm to Britain's hard-pressed borrowers with a quarter-point cut in interest rates.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Sainsbury's to raise prices due to Budget 'pressure'
The Independent

Sainsbury's to raise prices due to Budget 'pressure'

Sainsbury's has said shoppers will face higher prices as a result of the surprise tax changes announced in last week's Budget, which will hit the retailer with an extra £140m in costs.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 08, 2024
Keyboard warriors: a night at the Superbowl of esports
The Independent

Keyboard warriors: a night at the Superbowl of esports

The O2 arena sold out in a Glastonbury-esque frenzy, with resale tickets going for up to 1,000 online. All this for the chance to watch people play a desktop game on a jumbo screen? Annabel Nugent went to see what the big deal is

time-read
5 mins  |
November 08, 2024
NOBODY'S PERFECT
The Independent

NOBODY'S PERFECT

Eddie Redmayne has won rave reviews as an assassin in a TV adaptation of The Day of the Jackal’ but Geoffrey Macnab says it isn’t a patch on the 1973 movie starring Edward Fox

time-read
7 mins  |
November 08, 2024
How a new generation is giving granny tights a leg up
The Independent

How a new generation is giving granny tights a leg up

Kayleigh Werner explores how Gen Z superstars like Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift have reclaimed a hosiery staple most Brits associate with Nory sa and made it me

time-read
4 mins  |
November 08, 2024
PREACHY CLEAN
The Independent

PREACHY CLEAN

Videos of CleanTok influencers making their homes shine have more than 150 billion views. Ellie Muir looks at whether their bizarre methods are setting unhealthily high standards

time-read
5 mins  |
November 08, 2024