London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 02, 2025

Boris Johnson accused of ‘contempt’ for north by snubbing Doncaster for Kyiv

Boris Johnson accused of ‘contempt’ for north by snubbing Doncaster for Kyiv

Tory MPs in north of England warn PM he cannot take seats won from Labour’s ‘red wall’ for granted
Boris Johnson has been accused of showing “total contempt” for the north of England as a senior Tory MP warned him it was an “illusion” to think the party would comfortably hold seats that it won for the first time in 2019 at the next general election.

Anger erupted after the prime minister pulled out of a conference in Doncaster at the last minute, with those in “red wall” seats turning on the prime minister.

Members of the 50-strong Northern Research Group (NRG) of Tory MPs were promised that Johnson would be the headline speaker at their event for hundreds of activists – hours before he was due to speak.

It later emerged that the prime minister was in Ukraine, meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A source told the Guardian that a meeting between Johnson and Zelenskiy on Friday had been scheduled in the “government grid” for at least a week.

One Tory MP said the visit was “not an excuse” as Johnson “could have gone there any time”, and added: “Even his most loyal supporters here are pretty pissed off.” Another said it was “no loss to us”, but cautioned: “The PM ought to be making every effort to support and respect the people who hold his future in his hands.”

A senior NRG source said that the group, which represents one of the biggest caucuses within the Conservative party, represents constituencies that helped secure Johnson his 80-seat majority and “came through for him” during last week’s confidence vote.

“That goodwill is gone,” they said, adding that Johnson’s actions had “shown a total contempt for colleagues, contempt for members and contempt for the north”.

Jake Berry, chair of the NRG, earlier delivered a warning to Johnson to deliver on promised tax cuts and said the government should not take the dozens of seats it won in Labour’s former heartlands for granted. He was not confident, he said, that the Tories would hold on to Wakefield in next week’s byelection.

After the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, signalled that he would wait until spiralling inflation subsided before cutting taxes, Berry said it was “time to stop talking about being the party of low tax and become the government of low tax”.

While the support for households announced by Sunak was welcomed by Berry, he said he did not believe that “prices will have come down by this time next year”, so a “different approach” of lowering taxes was needed, “because that’s permanent”.

He said there was a “causal link” between the UK being the only country in the G7 that is “facing a cost of living crisis by putting taxes up” while experiencing “the slowest-growing economy”.

Berry said he was “really disappointed” at Johnson’s no-show, but that he understood the prime minister “does occasionally have to do other things than come to Doncaster – although for us, that would be our top priority”.

The prime minister was defended in a series of tweets by Ben Wallace on Friday evening. The defence secretary called criticism of the trip a “lot of rubbish”, adding: “As a Northern MP myself, I am not affronted by the fact he had to cancel speaking at the conference … Helping Ukraine win and trying to help at home are linked.

“Part of the inflation we see comes from gas and food prices which are partly driven upwards because of this conflict.”

Impressing the importance of Johnson engaging with the NRG, Berry said that “people who think that the Conservative party now has a right to win in the north of England are suffering from a sort of illusion … I think what was different about 2019 was that there was an acceptance of that, there was a sort of owning up by the Conservative party that we need to do better and we’ve got a plan to do it.

“People understand that Covid has intervened, but … political theory without implementation is simply hallucination – and we’ve now got to move ruthlessly to implement real change for people.”

Berry also cautioned: “Parties who fail to listen to the electorate face political annihilation.”

Although Johnson missed the chance to hear from his northern Tory MPs and activists, Berry said he would “phone him tomorrow” to push for the key ideas the NRG was promoting.

Among them was granting local areas with metro mayors tax-setting powers, a new levelling up formula to distribute money more equally across England, and a pledge by the government to increase the number of young people pursuing higher-level apprenticeships from 21% to 50% by 2030.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
×