‘Macho man’ lands blows on ‘Ozempic man’ in round two of Tory leadership chats
It was round two of the Tory leadership fireside chats.
After “posh boy” Tom Tugendhat and “working class” Kemi Badenoch, it was the turn of “Ozempic man” and “macho man”.
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Robert Jenrick, who took the weight loss drug for six weeks, changed his diet, exercised and lost four stone, was taking on the barrel-chested strongman James Cleverly, who does press-ups for fun.
And on the evidence of this confident, swaggering performance, Mr Cleverly may be muscling his way into the final two candidates who will contest the leadership in the final ballot of Tory members.
Without mentioning Mr Jenrick by name, “macho man” made several attacks on “Ozempic man” and boastfully told the audience he was a winner and they couldn’t afford to elect any of the other three candidates to replace Rishi Sunak.
It was Mr Jenrick, all slick, measured and media-trained, who went first and began with the disclosure that the middle name of his second daughter, Sophia, is Thatcher, because she was born the year Mrs Thatcher died.
Yes, really. There were gasps of astonishment from the Thatcher-loving audience. Could this really be true? Yes, apparently.
Robert Jenrick and wife Michal Berkner during the Conservative Party Conference. Pic: PA
But Mr Jenrick then had a good joke at Sir Keir Starmer’s expense. His daughter had asked if he’d get free Taylor Swift tickets if he becomes leader. “No, that’s only leaders of the Labour Party,” he said.
Challenged by interviewer Christopher Hope if he’d turn down freebies if he became leader, he looked startled. He’d have to say yes, he conceded. He may live to regret that!
Later, asked the same question, Mr Cleverly was having none of that. “Yes, every now and then!” he said. The man has no shame!
Mr Jenrick had a good gag, too, when asked about a deal with Nigel Farage and Reform UK. “I don’t think the party could afford the bar bill if we allowed Nigel Farage back in,” he said.
And then, when asked which of his Tory colleagues he’d like to see in the BBC reality game show The Traitors, he quipped: “Michael Gove has left Parliament!”
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Poor Mr Gove is the butt of a lot of Tory jokes in Birmingham this week. He’ll surely have his revenge in the columns of the Spectator magazine now he’s editor.
Mr Jenrick backed a shorter leadership contest so the winner could oppose the Budget in October and also the return of grammar schools. All the candidates love grammar schools.
Then came a story about Mr Jenrick’s own humble origins, the sort of story we’re also used to from political leaders these days. He grew up in a “working class background”, he claimed. Don’t they all? (Well, not Tom Tugendhat, obviously.)
“Money was quite tight in our household,” Mr Jenrick said. “My mum and dad quit their job and set up a small business, and it didn’t prosper initially. I went to a state primary school, and my granddad died.
“And my grandmother, who was not a wealthy person herself, decided instead of going on a cruise or doing anything else you might do with some money to spend that money putting my sister and I through a private school. It wasn’t Eton. It was Wolverhampton Grammar School.”
It was “an innately Conservative story”, he claimed. “And we should never bow to the politics of envy,” he said. “We should respect people who make decisions like that.”
And then it was time for Mr Cleverly, who strode on to the stage like a heavyweight boxer entering the ring. He does, of course, have the physique of a heavyweight boxer, which helps give him his swagger.
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But he told his own humble beginning story, too. He said he went to a private fee-paying school which used to be a grammar school.
And then he claimed: “Because my parents could only afford one set of school fees, that’s why I’m an only child. Genuinely, that’s the sacrifice my parents made to pay for my education.”
Two grammar school boys, then, funded by sacrifices made by their family. We’ll no doubt hear more about this when they make their big speeches on the final day of this conference.
Later Mr Cleverly told, in a very amusing way that made the audience laugh, his own family history. “I’m the child of migrant families, on both sides of my family,” he said.
“My mum came here from Sierra Leone in west Africa in 1966 and my dad’s family came here from northern France in 1066.”
Mr Cleverly, however, doesn’t do modesty. He spoke about “when I’m leader” rather than “if”. Nor is he shy about talking about himself. He must have said “I” up to 100 times during his hour on the stage.
“I am the only one who has run a great office of state,” he began by reminding his audience. “In fact, I’m the only one that has run two great offices of state and delivered in both of them.
“I’m the only one who has been chairman of the Conservative party. I’m the only one who’s been instrumental in winning a general election.”
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He was self-deprecating only in answer to two questions, first on his widely reported off-colour jokes about the date rape drug Rohypnol. “I messed up,” he confessed.
And second, when he was asked if he had any skeletons in his cupboard. He referred to a 2015 interview in which he admitted watching online porn and marijuana.
Then came the not-so-subtle attacks on Mr Jenrick. “It’s very now fashionable to be a Brexiteer,” he said. “I was doing it before it was cool.”
On Mr Jenrick resigning from the government over the Rwanda policy, he said: “I didn’t run away from problems, I deal with problems.”
And on Mr Jenrick wearing a “Hamas are terrorists” hoodie, he said: “I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said ‘You don’t need to wear a T-shirt to show what your principles are’.”
Ouch! The heavyweight had landed some effective blows on his opponent. And he ended by declaring: “When I’m in the final two.”
Was this second round of the fireside chats a preview of the final two in the leadership contest? Is Mr Cleverly going to repeat David Cameron’s triumph of the 2005 Tory conference, when his performance saw him transformed from outsider to front runner?
Given the reaction of many in the audience as they left the hall – “Cleverly nailed it”, several activists told Sky News – “macho man” may not have delivered a knock-out blow on “Ozempic man”. But he certainly won on points.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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