‘I’m not sure there’s a conservative party any more’ | Lord Patten

“I’m a Conservative, but I’m not sure there’s a Conservative Party anymore.”
Former Conservative Party chair Lord Patten says he has no sympathy for Rishi Sunak “because he was in favour of two of the biggest errors in modern British politics.”
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[@NeilHughes-ti6pz]

37 billion track and trace. Tories should pay that back to taxpayer and explain expenditure. Or prison.

[@barbaraarndt5293]

Yep, while Dido, the woman in charge, totally clueless btw,.is back on her pig farm. 😅

[@DavoInMelbourne]

Totally agree. This needs a serious investigation even if nothing else is subject to one. This should have been less than 20 million and that is being ludicrously generous.

[@kenmay1572]

"14 years of manure" that about sums it up

[@johnmoody2365]

Andrew Neil not holding back his obsequiousness as he defends the Tories

[@isabelstokes4042]

He hates the Tories!

[@PeterGreen-t8c]

Brillo Pad is a dyed in the wool Tory. Always was

[@alanpartridge1385]

I don't think he was at all.

[@davidmurphy7332]

No, they're not a "conservative" party, they're a kleptocracy party and that's been the case from Cameron-Osborne to Sunak-Hunt. Sure, they've dabbled in populism with Johnson, kakistocracy with Truss, and even some vague conservativism with May - but it's all been a variation on a central theme of "how we do we make ourselves and the rich richer while making the middle-class pay for it and the poor suffer for it?"

[@californiadreamin8423]

Andrew Neil still pimping for Murdoch.

[@tommymorrison6478]

In what way?

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@tommymorrison6478 Oh come on, where have you been?

[@tommymorrison6478]

@@californiadreamin8423 Planet Earth. And you didn't answer the question: I think we both know why.

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@tommymorrison6478 Well Tommy , you just have to wake up and check out the internet, or is to much for you ? PS. Up yours.

[@tommymorrison6478]

@@californiadreamin8423 Don't you just love it when you ask someone a question all they can respond with is the predictable abuse. My friend, you are an empty vessel. Goodnight.

[@davidbrisbane7206]

The Tories greatest success was convincing the voting public that it was a mainstream party.

[@alana8863]

Absolutely.

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

The Tories have always been collection of professional liars

[@anonitachi6966]

Thanks to the likes of #talkradio

[@Misaki.Manifestation]

Or that it has their interests at heart and any good intentions whatsoever for anyone but their self, from day one.

[@billkingston4402]

Flush the toilet

[@melgrant7404]

Been blocked for 14 yrs.

[@Lucerne13]

And welcome a floating turd.

[@NeonVisual]

GOOD RIDDANCE!

[@ScruffyTubbles]

Chris Patten is completely right. Both parties campaigns and policies are dire and don't instil faith in the future.

[@harveybrown37]

Goodbye to the Kleptomaniacal Gangsters in Suits Tory Party! It's been horrible knowing you

[@AnthonyNickson-r3t]

andrew supported brexit too

[@californiadreamin8423]

Maxwells stooge.

[@timsimmons5953]

Yes but what would you expect form such a sweaty.

[@john-k6k6w]

Good

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@john-k6k6w Says the 1 year KZbinr.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

He has gone record as saying that no one(not even his wife) knows how he voted in the referendum(it was on his Twitter feed). Of several appearances afterwards, he always seems quite critical of it. I think his partial residency in the South of France might have something to do with that.

[@tezinho81]

I'd tell them to turn off the lights on their way out, but they'd probably subcontract that job to one of their donors for a few more £bn

[@johngalvin3124]

Excellent 😂

[@majordendrocopos]

I have never voted Conservative in my entire life and I am not going to vote for them this time either, but I have a lot of respect for Chris Patten. I think he tells it like it is.

[@nigellee9824]

Do you not remember that Pattern lost his seat, he was an over bloated self serving chancer, that took every opportunity to enrich himself

[@majordendrocopos]

@@nigellee9824 Hmmmmmmm. Not a fan then?

[@francisravenscroft-dw6gi]

What happens if you double UK government borrowing in 14 years ? You double UK government debt costs . Have the Tories managed to double the size of the UK econonomy in 14 years ? no- so thats the answer to the state of the UK econony

[@davidhodgson3901]

Correct but don’t forget that the Tories have managed to enrich themselves and their acolytes..

[@foppo101]

@@davidhodgson3901 During the Covid scam many did.They got rich robbing the taxpayer by the millions.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Your analysis didn't mention the Pandemic. And how much would Labour have borrowed in the same circumstances?

[@francisravenscroft-dw6gi]

@@well-blazeredman6187 the question is: how much tax revenue does it cost the the Uk government to fund the debt payments. What were the cost/ benefit analysis of closing the entire economy and giving away money to keep the population unproductive?

[@Piccyman1]

@Darren-pq5octhey paid the £13.4 billion nhs debt off a few years ago

[@gracethomas460]

Vote conservatives out

[@Jack-je6ip]

Absolutely

[@melgrant7404]

Vote out to help out.

[@VinceLammas]

Patten is one of the last of a generation of traditional Conservatives, who expresses his views about what has become of that Party. What he is saying chimes well with my views about what the Government has done to the country since 2015.

[@temperatemix8268]

Let’s hope the Conservative Party, what’s left of it, is banished to the wilderness for however long it takes for them to rid themselves of the racist, bigoted, right they have fostered

[@temperatemix8268]

@StuartRussell-ul5rx I fully agree. Those on the left complaining Starmer is Tory lite need to get a grip of themselves. Corbyn was a disaster and is basically the left version of Reform. I hope labour stays centre and that forces the tories to be come crawling back to the centre as well. If you saw that channel 4 undercover investigation it gives an idea of just how far the conservative right have gone in regards to embracing hatred and racism. Something tells me they’re goi g to get dragged down that dead end for a good decade before Farage is giving the boot he so rightfully deserves

[@therealrobertbirchall]

​@StuartRussell-ul5rx yes let's repeat history the period between 1958 and 1979 will do nicely thank you sir.

[@wanderingfool6312]

Probably about as long as it takes to reverse Brexit.

[@Mark13091961]

They could just rename themselves the Corruption Party ... we'd all still recognise them

[@cobbler40]

They all have amnesia regarding the last 14 years.

[@richardruff8712]

Yes, you are correct... Absolute total denial of their actions...

[@Piccyman1]

But I suspect we won’t forget the next 5 years of the extremist left

[@alpine_newt]

No more Tories any more, no more Tories anymore! All gone!

[@chrispalmer7893]

I feel slightly bad about how much I enjoyed Patten losing his seat in 1992. Genuinely terrifying how political figures like him and Heseltine who once seemed monstrous now seem relatively reasonable. Could we really be here twenty years from now thinking “Sunak and Johnson weren’t that bad compared to what we have now?” Surely there has to be a bottom at some point…?

[@iaing9028]

I totally agree with your comment as I really disliked Michael Portillo when he was an MP, but have grown to like & respect his opinions not just about trains, but when he is on Political talk shows.

[@christopherfearon6699]

I totally agree with these comments, in the past, I vehemently disagreed with the Tory Party, but at least the Pattens, Portillos and Heseltines, had some sense of decency and honour, and a public service ethic, than this load of SHYSTERS.

[@user-s1o3nr532]

Portillo, with the help of the BBC, made a concerted effort to change his public persona for the better. That Patten and Heseltine seem reasonable now however is just indicative of how far the Conservative Party has moved to the extreme right.

[@Roy-gi5ul]

@@user-s1o3nr532they are NOT the Conservative Party! They went out the window when Johnson arrived along with his carefully selected cabal of yes men. The current shower🎉 are all tories, which is not the same thing at all L!

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Patten and Heseltine supported the ERM. Look at how that turned out. It probably planted the seed of Brexit in the first place. The man is a proto Blairite - he is not a real Tory.

[@amteo7107]

What a circus the last 14 years.😮. The sooner these conservative clowns are voted out the better.

[@Gerrygambone]

In the past Tories would say we are not nice people but we are economically competent. The current Tories are even crueller and no where near being economically competent.

[@royw-g3120]

Perfect description.

[@gdok6088]

Chris Patten 'is not sure there's a Conservative Party any more'. One thing is for sure, there won't be a Conservative Party any more in 7.5 days time.

[@markelmslie6832]

I'm praying!

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Roll on those zero seats.

[@martinahardaker8739]

These Tories need to be held to account.You can have these people with banal waffle but taxpayers are owed an explanation and there should be a complete comprehensive investigation into any alleged fraud. We need answers.

[@Scanini]

When you get to the age where looking in the mirror and seeing that nose hair doesn't bother you, lol

[@poneill65]

Oh what a world, where party grandees can no longer afford even the basics, like nose hair trimmers

[@etahenry3377]

Brilliant comment

[@billy4072]

Thank gawd Heseltine wasn’t interviewed as well..

[@nelch]

Glad to see the back of these tories

[@pj1471]

The Tories need to get some of that Chris Patten DNA to rebuild a proper Conservative Party.

[@nfcpro]

long gone never to return... party has changed too much... its now full of swivel-eyed right wing loons

[@georgesdelatour]

Patten was always a proto-Blairite.

[@oorya1780]

He was/is just another socialist masquerading as a Tory.

[@richardruff8712]

Do you mean Chris ' cry boy ' Patten at the Hong Kong handover ?

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

No. The man is part of the massive problem of British politics. He is part of the metropolitan liberal elite. He is essentially a Blairite(he even partially worked with Blair to get the UK into the Euro - and got paid off to be a commissioner at the EU). The Tories haven't been conservative since Michael Howard became leader and accepted the Blairite agenda in full, and then what followed was Cameron and his whole "heir to Blair" stuff - and look how that worked out, he couldn't even win a full majority against Gordon Brown.

[@JochenWüst]

chris Patten, is a very decent Person

[@tedthesailor172]

Patten claims that Starmer has "a pretty good team of individuals"...That's a strange way to describe a Zoo...

[@OldTiredFat]

If Rishi Sunak had any respect, he'd disband the party.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

He as good as did that when he called the snap-election - a colossal political miscalculation.

[@timwoodger7896]

Thatcher started the corporate socialism and this lot have taken it to full turbo 😂 One small step and corporate fascism is inevitable 😮

[@autoclearanceuk7191]

£2 for a nose hair trimmer at the pound shop. That is inflation.

[@well-blazeredman6187]

Patten? More Liberal than Conservative.

[@hypsyzygy506]

We know things are going to be tough, and we know it's going to take time - decades - to undo the damage. Those of us who have survived the last 14 years will give Labour time. Save the NHS, repair potholes, invest in young people, and build houses. Claw back the monies stolen, and investigate, prosecute and punish the fraudsters and thieves.

[@georgesdelatour]

Patten's overriding loyalty has always been to the Treaty of Rome. Ode To Joy is his national anthem, the wreath of stars his national flag. Maybe he'd say he's a "one nation" Conservative, but that's only true if the "nation" he's thinking of is the one founded by Jean Monnet. I don't hate him for this. But there we are.

[@robertmaitland8728]

As an 84 year old voter my ideal predictions would be that the Conservatives will not win enough seats to form an opposition party. It is possible.

[@accomuk]

Sounds like Chris Patten will be joining the Labour Party!

[@radicallyrethinkingrailwaysina]

When he spoke in Melbourne he quoted kissinger on the Iran Iraq war " I wish they could both lose"

[@tonydavies3511]

Never voting Tory again. VOTE REFORM!

[@royw-g3120]

So the Tories have completely messed things up, so you want to vote for an even worse version!?

[@osstorba1]

How can a man who paid for sex and lied about it claim the high moral ground?

[@submariner179]

Get a nose hair trimmer please

[@CartoonrBOY]

Buy nostril trimmers! 🤣🤣🤣

[@Shikuesi]

TLDL: Patten's got double BDS. They're related: he's furious that BJ got BX done. And take a load of this at 6:01 - Starmer's "not an out and out liar like Boris Johnson" - meanwhile, who was it said "Women can have penises" or to that effect He says it's been 14 years of not very good Conservative government - okay but 9 of those were under Cameron and May, Johnson and Sunak are almost a footnote

[@AndrewDavies-e3f]

6 Days to Go !! VOTE REFORM UK 🇬🇧 on 4th July 😊 Exciting Policies Announced Increase Basic Pay across our Armed Forces 💙💙

[@SimonWallwork]

Message to Starmer. 'You are not there to do what YOU want- you are there to do what WE want'. Take note, or in five years....

[@nigellee9824]

At the last election, we voted in a presidential style election, we voted for Boris , not an Asian

[@howestimothy7820]

My word lord patten is such a breath of fresh air!!

[@samseal8611]

Release the Russia report. That's definitely something we need to know about, that the Tories have kept under wraps, because it doesn't cast them in a kind light.

[@jstoner9029]

Did you hear that?. Chris Patten said “14 year of dire Tory government”, Andrew Neil immediately turned that into “dire reallocation campaign”. He didn’t skip a beat.

[@alfresco8442]

It became UKIP Lite years ago.

[@rustynail1194]

The ERG/UKIP took em over a long time ago.

[@somethingfunny6867]

if you mean run on ukip policys then govern like the labour party then you are correct. its why reform could get more votes overall than the conservatives.

[@LaurenceBlunt]

Total BS! The Tories were over-run by Liberals decades ago with the likes of Clark and Heslebine/Tarzan (Spitting Image was great back then). That is the problem, 90% of them are lib-tards standing behind a blue a Roset. AKA "Yellow-Cons".

[@alfresco8442]

​@@somethingfunny6867I didn't mean that, but am thankful to Reform. It's ensured that right wing nutters will be out of power for the foreseeable future.

[@somethingfunny6867]

@@alfresco8442 25% of 2019 conservative voters want the conservatives to get zero seats. the problem we have as a country is 27 years of blairism. and it looks like we are getting another 5.

[@DneilB007]

lol “I think we need to have the marriage before we have the honeymoon”. That’s the best line by a politician (British, Canadian, or American) in the past three years, at least!

[@r3negade47]

Even though I believe Starmer has probably gained politically by not being completely honest with the Public I do think Labour have really been telling a lot of white lies about how tough things are going to be in the next decade. I believe we can be a prosperous nation once again but it’s going to be a painful road to get there which will involve higher taxes or just an obliteration of our public services.

[@timonsolus]

Labour will definitely impose higher taxes. But the good news about that is that Labour will put up taxes for everyone, not just on the poor, as the Tories have done over the last 14 years.

[@mj-gb6tr]

Most ordinary people would happily pay more tax if it meant public services actually improved as a result.

[@harveybrown37]

​​@@timonsolusBS ! The IFS and Martin Lewis confirmed 2 outright lies by Sunak last night. Pensioners have done and will pay more tax under Tories say the Institute for Government

[@31Blaize]

@@harveybrown37 Didn't Martin Lewis slam the Tories for editing a clip of him to make it appear he was saying something he wasn't? Also the IFS have been using some dubious assumptions in their models.

[@timonsolus]

@@harveybrown37 : Not all pensioners are wealthy - in fact, most of them fall into the poor category

[@OldTiredFat]

Stole too much, too shamelessly.

[@john-k6k6w]

Patten is one of the reasons why we're in this Mess

[@Runboyrun89]

Huh? He is gone years.

[@charles8157]

Rishi,did try

[@occamraiser]

I have sympathy for Sunak and I am a lifelong Labour supporter. He was given the job by the self-serving, proto-fascist tory brexit-faithful as a whipping boy for this election. His mediocre performance COMPARED TO JOHNSON AND TRUSS has been stellar. The people who chose truss for selfish, venal reasons then picked a brown person to blame for the result of the election they, themselves, torpedoed are (predictably) criticising him.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

As much as hate Sunak and the current Tories - I have to say that I probably hate someone like Chris Patten even more. The man hasn't a conservative bone in his body. He believed in the EU - even wanted the UK to join the Euro. He was part of John Major's clique(Clarke, Garel-Jones, etc.) - and supported the ERM, which was a disaster and probably was the starting point for Brexit. He also actively worked with Blair for pushing for the Euro. Then let us not forget that Patten was in charge of the Poll Tax, with his time as Environment Secretary.

[@Wayne-Jones]

Vote Reform!🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Labour are going to finish the destruction the Tories started.

[@carolewaller3613]

The Conservatives have definately got my vote. Fantastic party... may they win the 2024 election.😊

[@Mig29now]

Probably the tories want to be gone? Perhaps Sunak doesn't really want to be a potential wartime leader? One lousy government gone and another lousy government comes in?

[@alanpartridge1385]

I always thought Chris Patten was a decent enough chap. He's right, this isn't the Conservative Party, it's something quite different from his days in government.

[@Lucerne13]

Starmer, a man of integrity?! Don't make me laugh. He'll say anything to curry favour and has flip flopped on so many issues.

[@raynicholl4446]

No sympathy at all,he never showed sympathy for the british people,unelected,unthinking,unfeeling,uninterested and unimportant man,he has left starmer such a mess labour will take years to sort it out,hope he is for the british people instead of islam and illegal immigration,if he cant put british people first then he is no better than sunak,a goverment should be for the countries people first and foremost,if he cant do that then starmer is no use to the british people

[@benh715]

The idea that Starmer isn’t a liar is for the birds. He tells people whatever they want to hear, that’s why it looks like he’s flip flopped so many times. He’s every bit as unprincipled as Johnson.

[@billmago7991]

Tory policy.....run the country into the ground,line your own pockets hand the mess over to Labor, then go on the attack saying this mess is all Labors fault, then all the punters will throw their hands in the air fail to vote next election and bingo Torys back in power😂😂😂😂😂

[@ThomasMadden-hd1oz]

Unless they changed the election to PR, then the Tories would be frozen out of power.

[@bombheadgames9565]

If your undecided its simple. Vote for the party that when you google [party] russian money doesn't scare you to death!

[@fandf888]

Labour need to call a referendum on rejoining Europe and end this bloody mess. For example, I deal with furniture designers that also repurpose antiques in Madrid. Before Brexit they exclusively bought leather from the UK, which they considered superior to anything in Europe, and they bought a lot. Not any more, all stopped, easier to buy from Italy and Spain. Another business casualty courtesy of Brexit.

[@themackeler5011]

We had a referendum ,you lost . TORIES have not obeyed what the majority voted for our Nigel will get Brexit done properly.

[@cliffrightmove1527]

What a true turncoat evil man patten really is not that I am a conservative which I’m not but he is a typical politician bloody awful 🥵

[@sueskinner1459]

They should be known as the WEFSERVATIVE PARTY!!

[@ItsZombiefied]

It's not just the Tories going down, their buddy boys in NI are up in flames as well

[@davidjohns4745]

Time for Reform.

[@pccitizen1647]

Not many people have sympathy for you too. Especially Hong Kong people. 😂

[@angelaknight7184]

He’s only got himself to blame

[@Rose-eq1xm]

I do like Rishi he’s a good man . I still can’t vote Tories we do need a big change in politics

[@louiswall2984]

Please remember year 2019 where thousands dieing and all other mess on the con men

[@markwright130]

Myself friends and family are all voting reform today and can't wait

[@rayf926]

The establishment are giving Nigel Farage the Trump treatment.

[@PeterGreen-t8c]

The Tories want to lose this so Labour can be left to deal with the mess

[@Lpreilly72]

Brexit. The word nobody wants to say.

[@TheMatthooks]

Can someone tell Angela Smith about Postie Mate please.

[@TheMikeDudley]

Someone buy him some nose hair tweezers.

[@user-dj3yv6je9n]

The country has got a situation where anyone whk canpaigns becomes an MP without any merit ont here education and intelligence ir integrity

[@billsmith-hl8rk]

Or spelling.

[@TheMatthooks]

I wonder who caused the horrible problems?

[@Sheddweller419]

There have been so many Conservative MP's who have brought their party into disrepute over the last 14 years, that all of them come out poorly , including my mp ,who's done absolutely nothing in 14 years.

[@VesiustheBoneCruncher]

Dear Labour - if you’d like to reduce the Tories by a bit, maybe offsetting some of your voter apathy in marginal Labour/Tory seats, it’s really easy. Instruct candidates running in fourth by most polling in the south to *stop* knocking polls and tactical voting. You don’t need to mess up your anti-apathy message. They don’t need to come out in favour of it. Just a quiet word will do. *think*. Repeat after me, “country before party”. Lie back, think of England …

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

I can remember a time, long ago, when even though I disagreed profoundly with the Conservative Party and everything they stood for, I could at least respect them for being committed and generally principled. That hasn't been the case for years and has only gotten more so. Good to see an "Old Conservative" fessing up to the state of his party.

[@artsandculturenetwork3680]

Events of recent weeks have confirmed my opinion that the party political system is wholly inconsistent with the fundamental principles of democratic representation. What does an ambitious politician with one eye on a cabinet post do if their PM wants a new airport in their consistency but 98% of their electorate don't? Also, lower taxes, increase public spending, reduce national debt ... choose any two.

[@chrislambe400]

New fear unlocked - getting nose hair like that.

[@ponniedin1924]

All governments are likewise, manipulating, power hunger, used and abused of their position. Very rarely are they concerned about peoples, especially the charity begins at home, they helped more foreign people than British people, I myself is coloured who live and paid taxes since I came to the UK, yet, when I applied British passport, the exam fail me, rather none speaking English people passed the test except me. What about that.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

What is labour's model and formulation of overall economic strategy? Macroeconomics and Microeconomics intermeshing of variables affects one another. If labour borrows more for infrastructure projects they will push up interest rates, and if they don't they will be increasing taxation or slashing expenditure, which might reduce growth. On the Microeconomics side, reforming the Industrial Policy, Industrial Relations, Health Economics Policy, Retirement Policy for old age savers, housing policy for homeless people, apprenticeships and skill development related training programs for the youth and other segments of the society, and a skills adjusted income policy for those working in the public sector such as the NHS, etc. will have their own dynamics for the Macroeconomic foundations.

[@richardcoppack5357]

Lord Patten has it pretty spot on.

[@tenniskinsella7768]

I am sure i dobt want starmer as pm

[@CardCarrion]

The greatest party ever facing the biggest humiliation ever contacts in the police , the cicil service , the press , is it believable they would stage a stunt like the actor in clacton... mor believable they wouldnt

[@alancoates4531]

Vote Labour get the Tories out.

[@advisorsandy2068]

Appalling government over the last 8 years; ie since the time of Johnson and Co. the country is in a real mess, and Johnson has been allowed to stroll into the sunset with the life of Riley.

[@bugsymalone-ty5fj]

This millionaire talking about raising taxes for us while he has his offshore company. Just shows whats happened to the tories. Dont forget to flush

[@BombusMonticola]

Well Said. Theres no longer a Tory party. Some might say there's no longer a Labour party. The neutering of politics has taken place. Only huge reform of the political system so it meets the modern needs of a more savy electorate only PR will solve it.

[@jsd8981]

Lets hope there is no corruption in the labour party, the Cons / Tory Party excelled in corruption they owned the defination of the word corruption...

[@donttrip8282]

Careerist chancers party.