This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28730274
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Baroness Warsi warns Tories over attracting ethnic minorities | Baroness Warsi warns Tories over attracting ethnic minorities |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The former Conservative chairman, Baroness Warsi, says her party will not win the next election unless it does more to attract ethnic minority voters. | The former Conservative chairman, Baroness Warsi, says her party will not win the next election unless it does more to attract ethnic minority voters. |
| She resigned as a government minister over the UK's policy on Gaza last week but has now broadened her criticisms. | She resigned as a government minister over the UK's policy on Gaza last week but has now broadened her criticisms. |
| Lady Warsi told the Sunday Times and Independent on Sunday the Tories had left it "a little late" to woo ethnic minorities for the next election. | |
| Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi said it was sad Lady Warsi felt the way she did. | Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi said it was sad Lady Warsi felt the way she did. |
| Lady Warsi became the first female Muslim cabinet minister when David Cameron took office in 2010. | Lady Warsi became the first female Muslim cabinet minister when David Cameron took office in 2010. |
| 'Shifting' leadership | 'Shifting' leadership |
| In her newspaper interviews she also criticised "bitchy" male colleagues and repeated her anger at the government's handling of the fighting in Gaza. | In her newspaper interviews she also criticised "bitchy" male colleagues and repeated her anger at the government's handling of the fighting in Gaza. |
| She said: "I will be out there, vocally fighting for an outright Conservative majority. | |
| "But the electoral reality is that we will not win outright Conservative majorities until we start attracting more of the ethnic vote." | |
| Lady Warsi said she was one of David Cameron's earliest supporters in 2005, thinking: "This is a guy who gets today's Britain. He's a new kind of Conservative. He's comfortable with today's Britain". | Lady Warsi said she was one of David Cameron's earliest supporters in 2005, thinking: "This is a guy who gets today's Britain. He's a new kind of Conservative. He's comfortable with today's Britain". |
| But she added: "I think the party has shifted since then. The party leadership has shifted since then. I think over time it will be a regressive move because we have to appeal to all of Britain, not just because it's morally the right thing to do... but because it is an electoral reality. | But she added: "I think the party has shifted since then. The party leadership has shifted since then. I think over time it will be a regressive move because we have to appeal to all of Britain, not just because it's morally the right thing to do... but because it is an electoral reality. |
| "We've probably left it a little too late to take this part of the electorate seriously." | "We've probably left it a little too late to take this part of the electorate seriously." |
| BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says the Conservatives won a 36% share of the vote at the last election, but gained the support of just 16% of ethnic minority voters. | BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says the Conservatives won a 36% share of the vote at the last election, but gained the support of just 16% of ethnic minority voters. |
| The Number 10 policy unit had been looking at ways to narrow this gap, and changes to stop-and-search laws were partly motivated by the concerns of ethnic minority voters, he added. | |
| Israeli relationship | Israeli relationship |
| Rejecting criticisms that she was not up to her job, Lady Warsi said she was a "brown, working-class woman from the North. People have been telling me I'm not good enough since the day I was born". | Rejecting criticisms that she was not up to her job, Lady Warsi said she was a "brown, working-class woman from the North. People have been telling me I'm not good enough since the day I was born". |
| She also said that "some of the bitchiest women I've ever met in my life are the men in politics". | She also said that "some of the bitchiest women I've ever met in my life are the men in politics". |
| And she called on the government to "recognise Palestine as a state" and impose an arms embargo on Israel. | And she called on the government to "recognise Palestine as a state" and impose an arms embargo on Israel. |
| She also criticised Chancellor George Osborne and chief whip Michael Gove for not using their "very, very close" relations with the Israeli government to help end the hostilities. | She also criticised Chancellor George Osborne and chief whip Michael Gove for not using their "very, very close" relations with the Israeli government to help end the hostilities. |
| "What is the point of having that strong relationship if you can't use it to move them to a position which is in their interests and our interests?" | "What is the point of having that strong relationship if you can't use it to move them to a position which is in their interests and our interests?" |
| She also rejected Mr Osborne's claim that her resignation had been "unnecessary". | She also rejected Mr Osborne's claim that her resignation had been "unnecessary". |
| She said: "My actions would not have been necessary if he had done what he should have done, which is pick up the phone to people he is incredibly close to and say: 'It's unnecessary for you to meet your ends by taking out power stations, taking out homes, taking out schools and killing kids on beaches'."' | She said: "My actions would not have been necessary if he had done what he should have done, which is pick up the phone to people he is incredibly close to and say: 'It's unnecessary for you to meet your ends by taking out power stations, taking out homes, taking out schools and killing kids on beaches'."' |