4 weeks ago
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Conservative MPs have expressed frustration at their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over hotels housing people seeking asylum.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show members are concerned that the party’s leadership is attacking Keir Starmer’s government for policies introduced by the Conservatives.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, agreed that an advert shared by Conservative Campaign Headquarters last week was “of concern” but insisted it would not be deleted.
The WhatsApp exchange, which was first reported by ConservativeHome, came after the Tories launched an advert featuring a “list of perks” received by people housed in asylum hotels. It included housing and food “provided directly by the state” and clothing provided by the Home Office, which are offered to people who arrive in the UK and claim asylum.
The advert also included other claims that have since been challenged as exaggerations, including claims of discounted Spanish and French lessons, free driving lessons and free PlayStation consoles for new arrivals.
Lewis Cocking, the MP for Broxbourne, wrote: “This makes us look silly as we gave them all this too which is why we are in the mess we are in today. Completely unacceptable – they should be put in detention centres and deported.”
His message prompted a series of shadow ministers to signal their support, with the home affairs spokesperson, Alicia Kearns, the foreign affairs representative, Andrew Rosindell, and the housing spokesperson, Paul Holmes, responding with thumbs-up emojis.
Hollinrake replied: “Agreed. Do message me directly with anything [sic] other ads of concern.”
Ben Obese-Jecty, another 2024-intake MP, shared a post written by Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK party is leading the Conservatives in the polls by an average of about 12 points and made significant gains at the Tories’ expense in the local elections earlier this year. Farage had reposted the Tory graphic and written: “They should be in hiding.” Obese-Jecty wrote underneath: “As predicted.”
Cocking wrote in the WhatsApp chain that the party’s original post should be taken down, pointing out that it could be weaponised against Tory MPs with asylum hotels in their constituencies.
“Well I did say and no one seems to listen. I have an asylum hotel and the community is ripping itself apart and it’s okay for everyone that doesn’t. We did this and we must come up with a policy that solves it,” he wrote. Rosindell and another 2024-intake MP, Peter Bedford, liked the message.
Hollinrake claimed it would be counterproductive to remove the post, although he said he had “spoken to the team about it” and accepted that the message should have been better framed.
“It’s a fine line really, as we’re saying that we’d do stuff now that we didn’t do before on the basis of ‘under new leadership’,” Hollinrake wrote to his fellow MPs.
Obese-Jecty, one of just 26 new Tory MPs, wrote that the policies being attacked were introduced and maintained under Conservative governments.
“Most of those perks are ridiculous but some of them have been in place for years and have our fingerprints all over them, so why are we trying to pin them on Labour who can easily point that out?” he asked. “Why would anyone believe we’d scrap them now unless we explicitly state how we would?”
The MP for Huntingdon added: “I agree that the tweet can’t be removed, that dinghy has sailed, but it’s yet another example of piss-poor comms from CCHQ that cause unnecessary media embarrassment. This isn’t the first time it’s been raised.”
A Conservative spokesperson told ConservativeHome: “Kemi Badenoch has been clear that under her leadership this is a changed Conservative party. She has set out where we failed on immigration and delivered bold new plans to set it right, including our deportation bill which would take back control of our borders.
“We will continue to hold Labour to account for their total failure to tackle the small boats crisis.”
