UK Conservatives fight for GOP ties while squeezed by the populist Right
Who controls this in five years?
Welcome to a new week and Monday’s edition of Washington Secrets. It’s a United Kingdom special. Priti Patel, Britain’s shadow foreign secretary, explains why her Conservative Party is the natural ally of the Republican Party, rather than any Voldemorts, and we have the inside story of Nigel Farage’s fruitless quest to meet Donald Trump at the weekend.
The British shadow foreign secretary was in Washington to lobby U.S. officials to prevent London from giving away the Chagos Islands, home to an American naval base, to Mauritius.
But as she held court tucked in the deep sofa of a hotel lobby, it was also clear Priti Patel was in town to rally support for her own Conservative Party and its place as the natural ally for Republicans.
“We have shared values. It’s the parties of Reagan and Thatcher,” she told Secrets. “It’s real, traditional conservatism that sums up all our values: Our support for free speech, our support for the family, more economic growth and prosperity, stronger defenses.”
The reason for her concern is obvious. Her party is being squeezed by the forces of the hard, populist Right.
Her visit last month was overshadowed in part by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist with a string of criminal convictions, who was also in town. And hours after she sat down with Secrets, her party was an embarrassing fourth in a parliamentary byelection as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK vacuumed up the votes of people who would once have voted Conservative.
The frustration is obvious as she avoided even mentioning their names, instead focusing on how the Conservatives remain the natural allies of the Republican Party.
“You don’t hear the other two that you’ve just mentioned speaking about having policies, plans, and solutions,” she said.
What they have, though, is visibility in Washington.
Patel was at the State Department on the same day as Robinson. His hosts must have had to waive visa restrictions on the violent offender, who has previously been banned from entry.
He can count Elon Musk among his supporters, who see him as an uncompromising campaigner for free speech.
He is seen differently in the U.K. There, his unfettered speech cost him $130,000 in libel damages to a schoolboy who received death threats after Robinson’s anti-Muslim smears, and then a prison sentence when he ignored a court injunction banning him from repeating the lies. Robinson claimed he had been silenced by the state.
Then there is Farage. Last month, he deepened his ties to …
Who controls this in five years?
Welcome to a new week and Monday’s edition of Washington Secrets. It’s a United Kingdom special. Priti Patel, Britain’s shadow foreign secretary, explains why her Conservative Party is the natural ally of the Republican Party, rather than any Voldemorts, and we have the inside story of Nigel Farage’s fruitless quest to meet Donald Trump at the weekend.
The British shadow foreign secretary was in Washington to lobby U.S. officials to prevent London from giving away the Chagos Islands, home to an American naval base, to Mauritius.
But as she held court tucked in the deep sofa of a hotel lobby, it was also clear Priti Patel was in town to rally support for her own Conservative Party and its place as the natural ally for Republicans.
“We have shared values. It’s the parties of Reagan and Thatcher,” she told Secrets. “It’s real, traditional conservatism that sums up all our values: Our support for free speech, our support for the family, more economic growth and prosperity, stronger defenses.”
The reason for her concern is obvious. Her party is being squeezed by the forces of the hard, populist Right.
Her visit last month was overshadowed in part by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist with a string of criminal convictions, who was also in town. And hours after she sat down with Secrets, her party was an embarrassing fourth in a parliamentary byelection as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK vacuumed up the votes of people who would once have voted Conservative.
The frustration is obvious as she avoided even mentioning their names, instead focusing on how the Conservatives remain the natural allies of the Republican Party.
“You don’t hear the other two that you’ve just mentioned speaking about having policies, plans, and solutions,” she said.
What they have, though, is visibility in Washington.
Patel was at the State Department on the same day as Robinson. His hosts must have had to waive visa restrictions on the violent offender, who has previously been banned from entry.
He can count Elon Musk among his supporters, who see him as an uncompromising campaigner for free speech.
He is seen differently in the U.K. There, his unfettered speech cost him $130,000 in libel damages to a schoolboy who received death threats after Robinson’s anti-Muslim smears, and then a prison sentence when he ignored a court injunction banning him from repeating the lies. Robinson claimed he had been silenced by the state.
Then there is Farage. Last month, he deepened his ties to …
UK Conservatives fight for GOP ties while squeezed by the populist Right
Who controls this in five years?
Welcome to a new week and Monday’s edition of Washington Secrets. It’s a United Kingdom special. Priti Patel, Britain’s shadow foreign secretary, explains why her Conservative Party is the natural ally of the Republican Party, rather than any Voldemorts, and we have the inside story of Nigel Farage’s fruitless quest to meet Donald Trump at the weekend.
The British shadow foreign secretary was in Washington to lobby U.S. officials to prevent London from giving away the Chagos Islands, home to an American naval base, to Mauritius.
But as she held court tucked in the deep sofa of a hotel lobby, it was also clear Priti Patel was in town to rally support for her own Conservative Party and its place as the natural ally for Republicans.
“We have shared values. It’s the parties of Reagan and Thatcher,” she told Secrets. “It’s real, traditional conservatism that sums up all our values: Our support for free speech, our support for the family, more economic growth and prosperity, stronger defenses.”
The reason for her concern is obvious. Her party is being squeezed by the forces of the hard, populist Right.
Her visit last month was overshadowed in part by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist with a string of criminal convictions, who was also in town. And hours after she sat down with Secrets, her party was an embarrassing fourth in a parliamentary byelection as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK vacuumed up the votes of people who would once have voted Conservative.
The frustration is obvious as she avoided even mentioning their names, instead focusing on how the Conservatives remain the natural allies of the Republican Party.
“You don’t hear the other two that you’ve just mentioned speaking about having policies, plans, and solutions,” she said.
What they have, though, is visibility in Washington.
Patel was at the State Department on the same day as Robinson. His hosts must have had to waive visa restrictions on the violent offender, who has previously been banned from entry.
He can count Elon Musk among his supporters, who see him as an uncompromising campaigner for free speech.
He is seen differently in the U.K. There, his unfettered speech cost him $130,000 in libel damages to a schoolboy who received death threats after Robinson’s anti-Muslim smears, and then a prison sentence when he ignored a court injunction banning him from repeating the lies. Robinson claimed he had been silenced by the state.
Then there is Farage. Last month, he deepened his ties to …
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