The gloves are officially off! Now that James Cleverly has been eliminated from the Tory leadership contest, the other two candidates; Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are metaphorically sparring in the country’s media. Jenrick recently accused Badenoch of being disrespectful over her lack of detailed policies – something that might actually help her out in the long-term. In response, Badenoch reminded Jenrick that this was not a general election, punchy stuff for many tories who are still feeling July’s effects. Very obviously, the two are not pulling their media-trained punches, but what kind of student newspaper would we be if we did not make it about us, the students?
In recent history, education at school level has been one of the few successes that the Tories can boast; they listed 25 pledges on this matter in their last manifesto. This is something the ‘traditional conservative’ Kemi Badenoch might point to if we were able to ask her this question directly. However Jenrick, widely considered to be somewhat of a political chameleon, would likely also point to the past ‘success’ of his party on that topic, if he deemed it opportunistic enough. It may look hopeful for younger conservative supporters at school, but what about University? Earlier this year, the Tory government denied that there was a funding crisis for our universities – Michelle Donelan, the science minister at the time, categorically said this to the House of Lords.
Robert Jenrick’s economic plan involves ‘shrinking the state’ rather than raising taxes. It is an ominous thought what shrinking the state might mean for the UK’s universities. However, it will again be interesting to see if Jenrick sticks to this, due to his non-committal politics, having once been part of David Cameron’s extended posse when he was first elected MP in 2014. After all, it’s a rather pessimistic reading between the lines on my part.
It is also hard to compare anything to Kemi Badenoch’s plan, since it is still locked behind her carbon fibre curtain. Thankfully for this article, and very little else, Mrs Badenoch has been extremely outspoken in the past about her social views. If these are anything to go by, it is hard to see her being particularly positive towards the young adult population of the country.
It’s a rather sad picture when one has to rely on a change of heart, but Jenrick might just edge Badenoch on this issue. Still, without James ‘most electable in his class’ Cleverly, the Tories face an uphill battle over the next 4 and a half years.
“File:Official portrait of Robert Jenrick crop 2.jpg” by Chris McAndrew is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
“Kemi Badenoch 2024” by World Trade Organization is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.