UK politics live: Kemi Badenoch insists she believes in maternity pay as Tory rivals jump on ‘excessive’ claim

Conservative Party chairman Richard Fuller has said that Conservative MPs appeared too divided and appeared self serving before they were defeated at the general election earlier this year.

Speaking from the main stage on the first day of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Mr Fuller said he had been receiving feedback from members after the election. He said: “A leading theme is the performance of our parliamentary party following the election victory in 2019.

“You told us, as voters have told us, that the parliamentary party was divided, that we appeared self serving and self indulgent.

“You told us, as the voters told us, that our policies too frequently lack grip on the issues at hand, and that we had lost sight of the Conservative values that should have been our guide.

“And that the absence of clear sight to our principles encouraged factionalism across the parliamentary party, hampering any leaders’ focus on competent delivery, on the priorities that had drawn so many people to vote Conservative.”

Mr Fuller added: “I was a member of that parliament. I am accountable for those assessments of our performance. I am profoundly sorry to you, the members of the Conservative Party.”

Conservativism is “still really strong”, the former mayor Andy Street said, as he argued there was support for a “national fightback” in the West Midlands.

On the first day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, the former West Midlands mayor said: “I so wish the context of today was different.

“I dearly wanted to speak to you as the West Midlands mayor, not the former mayor of the West Midlands, I wanted to show you that moderate Conservatism is still a winning force, sadly that was not to be.”

“Take heart ladies and gentleman, there’s no debate, Conservatism is still really strong,” he added.

Mr Street went on to say: “Be sure, there is clear evidence, that there is the support here on the ground for the national fightback to begin here in the West Midlands.”

Kemi Badenoch’s campaign team has claimed that rivals are using “selective quotes” to undermine the Tory leadership hopeful’s position in the Conservative leadership contest.

A spokesperson close to the shadow secretary said: “We need to be better, we need our politics to be better. Kemi obviously supports maternity pay and was making a case for lower regulation – something she always aimed for as business secretary.

“For other leadership campaigns to be seeking to use selective quotes from an interview to score political hits, shows they’re still wedded to the old politics and simply aren’t serious about getting back to government.”

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak will deliver a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham today at 5.20pm.

This marks the party leader first major address to the party since the bruising general election loss in July.

His speech is expected to reflect on the challenges the Conservatives face in rebuilding after the defeat, while also addressing the future direction of the party.

The speech is part of a drinks reception with party members, but The Independent’s political team will bring you the latest updates from the conference.

Fellow Conservative leadership contenders have distanced themselves from Kemi badenoch’s controversial comments about maternity pay.

Both Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick emphasised the importance of supporting working women.

At an event with the Conservative Women’s Organisation, Mr Tugendhat claimed that while he wasn’t aware of the full context of Ms Badenoch’s remarks, he stressed the importance of women having the freedom to choose.

“It’s not for me to tell you whether you should go to work or stay at home or which job to do or how many kids to have, that’s none of my business,” he said. “What’s my business as a politician is to make sure that you have the support for choice.”

Robert Jenrick directly challenged Ms Badenoch’s stance, stating that the Conservative Party should be “firmly on the side of parents and working mums.”

Speaking at a fringe event, Mr Jenrick said that the UK has a low maternity pay compared to other OECD nations, adding: “I think the Conservative Party should be firmly in the side of parents and working mums who are trying to get on.”

Unions have hit back at Conservative leadership contender Kemi Badenoch after she branded UK maternity pay “excessive” claiming it has “gone too far”.

In a sharp response, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak criticised Ms Badenoch and accused the Tories of being disconnected from the realities facing working families.

The union boss said: “The Conservative Party leadership candidates are hopelessly out of touch and seem to be competing with one another to be the most unkind and nasty.

“Maternity pay in the UK is lower than in many other economies - forcing too many mums back from leave early.

“The Tories don’t appear to have any solutions for this country. All they have left is performative cruelty and division.”

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservatives should “learn the lessons” of their general election defeat and “reflect” on their time in government as their conference gets under way.

Mr Sunak described this year as a “difficult one” for the party as “too many good Conservatives have lost their seats”, in a piece for The House magazine.

He said he “will always be sorry” that “he could not deliver the results that everyone’s efforts deserved”, in the article at the start of his final conference as leader.

The contest to replace Mr Sunak will feature prominently at the gathering in Birmingham as Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly are all vying for the leadership.

Writing in the magazine, Mr Sunak described the conference as “important moment for our party”.

He added: “This is our first conference in opposition since 2009. Of course, we need to learn the lessons of our defeat: we did not get everything right in government – no government ever does – and we do now need to reflect on that. But we should not forget what we have achieved since 2010.”