As the battle begins to become

Tory Party

Leader

what is the legacy of the Conservatives’ ​fourteen years in power the candidates ​are so keen to continue?

Images: The Guardian

Poverty

We are worse off

  • 7 million low-income families (60%) reported going without ​essentials like food, showers, heating and toiletries in the 6 ​months to May 2024, including 5.4 million experiencing food ​insecurity in the 30 days prior to the survey.


  • 4.3 million low-income families (37%) are in arrears with at ​least one household bill or credit commitment, and 1.2 million ​are in arrears with 4 or more bills. The total amount of arrears ​owed by low-income households is around £6.3 billion, with ​an average amount owed of around £1,400.


  • 3.8 million low-income families currently hold £7.5 billion ​worth of debt through loans originally taken out to pay for ​food, housing or essential bills like council tax or energy.


Joseph Rowntree Foundation Cost of Living Tracker, May 2024

Poverty,hardship - counting the pennies UK

NHS

We are worse off

  • More than 6,300,000 people waiting for treatment on the ​NHS as of March 2024, with 7,500,000 treatment cases and ​9,700,000 adults waiting for some sort of NHS service.


  • Between 2010 and 2020, the NHS saw an average annual ​funding growth of just 1.4%.


  • In 2022/23, more than 30% of patients waited longer than 4 ​hours in A&E - the worst performance in history. 40% of ​cancer patients waited more than 2 months of an urgent GP ​referral to begin cancer treatment.


  • Real-terms junior doctors’ pay cuts of 26% caused the ​cancellation of 350,000 operations and appointments


The King’s Fund / Hansard - UK Parliament / Nuffield Trust / The Independent

Kemi badenoch’s ​best Moments

When she claimed the UK’s wealth “is not from slavery”

“So, what are the transexuals looking for?”

When she abstained from voting on marriage equality in ​Northern Ireland

When she hacked into a Labour MP’s website and

c​hanged it to say good things about the Tories

Tom Tugendhat’s ​best Moments

When the acronym of his campaign slogan was turd​

Wh​en he thought Liz Truss would be a good Prime Minister

When, as Security Minister, he was banned from driving

for usin​g ​his mobile behind the wheel

When he quoted Albus Dumbledore on being asked why

h​e would make a good Tory leader

suella braverman’s ​best Moments

Wh​en she described homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”

“​...white English girls [...] harmed by British Pakistani men”

When she described peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters

as “hate marchers”

Criticising those upholding the rule of law as an

“​activist blob of left-wing lawyers”

Robert jenrick’s ​best Moments

De​fending having been “branded very right wing”

De​scribed as “the worst cabinet minister you haven’t heard of”

“I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout

A​l​lahu Akbar... and not be immediately arrested”

Admitting having “failed to deliver the strong economy,

N​HS and border we promised”

Priti patel’s

best Moments

When she wanted to deport asylum seek​ers to Rwanda

Wh​en she voted against same-sex marriage

When she was sacked from government for ‘off-the-bo​o​k’ meetings with Israeli ministers and business people

Describing the Black Lives Matter movement as “dreadful”

and ​tak​ing the knee as “gesture politics”

James cleverly’s

best Moments

Describing a city with 34% child poverty, as a “shit​hole”

Wh​en he said Islamophobia might not be racist

“a little bit of [date rape drug] Rohypnol in her drink every

night” is “not really illegal if it’s only a little bit”

When, as Home Secretary, he is said to have described

h​is department’s Rwanda deportation plan as “batshit”