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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| MP's defection a 'betrayal' - Tory chairman Shapps | MP's defection a 'betrayal' - Tory chairman Shapps |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Tory chairman Grant Shapps has accused Mark Reckless of "betrayal" with his defection from the party to UKIP. | |
| Mr Shapps told the party conference in Birmingham: "Your trust has been abused. You have been cheated." | Mr Shapps told the party conference in Birmingham: "Your trust has been abused. You have been cheated." |
| Mr Reckless announced he was defecting to UKIP on the eve of the Conservative conference, triggering a by-election in his Rochester and Strood constituency. | |
| He said it was "impossible" to keep his promise to voters on tax cuts and Europe as a Conservative. | He said it was "impossible" to keep his promise to voters on tax cuts and Europe as a Conservative. |
| David Cameron has called Mr Reckless's defection - which follows a similar move earlier this month by MP Douglas Carswell - "senseless and counter-productive" because the Conservatives were the only party that could deliver an EU referendum. | David Cameron has called Mr Reckless's defection - which follows a similar move earlier this month by MP Douglas Carswell - "senseless and counter-productive" because the Conservatives were the only party that could deliver an EU referendum. |
| Welfare cap | Welfare cap |
| But in his opening speech to the Conservative conference, Mr Shapps went further, telling members: "I share your deep sense of betrayal and anger. We've been repeatedly let down by someone who lied to his constituents and you. | But in his opening speech to the Conservative conference, Mr Shapps went further, telling members: "I share your deep sense of betrayal and anger. We've been repeatedly let down by someone who lied to his constituents and you. |
| "He lied, lied and lied again." | "He lied, lied and lied again." |
| David Cameron wants to use his week in Birmingham to unveil a series of policies aimed at winning the party an overall majority in May's election. | David Cameron wants to use his week in Birmingham to unveil a series of policies aimed at winning the party an overall majority in May's election. |
| He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that a Conservative government would cut the maximum level of benefits a household can claim from £26,000 a year to £23,000 to fund an extra three million apprenticeships in the next parliament. | He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that a Conservative government would cut the maximum level of benefits a household can claim from £26,000 a year to £23,000 to fund an extra three million apprenticeships in the next parliament. |
| At the same time, unemployed young people aged 18 to 21 would be given six months to find work or training - after which their jobseeker's allowance payments would be withdrawn unless they agreed to take part in "community projects" such as cleaning up local parks. | At the same time, unemployed young people aged 18 to 21 would be given six months to find work or training - after which their jobseeker's allowance payments would be withdrawn unless they agreed to take part in "community projects" such as cleaning up local parks. |
| A further proposal is that most unemployed 18 to 21-year-olds should also be prevented from claiming housing benefit, if the claim is being made solely to enable them to leave the parental home. | A further proposal is that most unemployed 18 to 21-year-olds should also be prevented from claiming housing benefit, if the claim is being made solely to enable them to leave the parental home. |
| Mr Cameron also promised help for younger people to get on the housing ladder, saying a Tory government would build 100,000 homes exclusively available to under-40s in England at 20% below the market rate. | |
| But the policy announcements have been overshadowed by the defection of Mr Reckless and the resignation of civil society minister Brooks Newmark over newspaper revelations about his private life. | But the policy announcements have been overshadowed by the defection of Mr Reckless and the resignation of civil society minister Brooks Newmark over newspaper revelations about his private life. |
| Mr Reckless, who spoke on Saturday of his wish to cut immigration, told BBC One's Sunday Politics show: "We made all these promises in 2010 as Conservatives and they have been broken. | |
| "David Cameron has had his chance, he hasn't kept his promises. I want to keep mine." | |
| Disenchantment | |
| UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "There is a great deal of disenchantment with David Cameron's leadership of the Conservative party but equally don't underestimate the fact that there are Labour backbenchers who are thinking about this as well. | |
| "It wouldn't surprise me if we saw more defections." | |
| Mr Cameron said he had not been aware of Mr Reckless's plans to quit but suggested the backbencher would not be much of a loss to the party because he "rarely voted with the government". | Mr Cameron said he had not been aware of Mr Reckless's plans to quit but suggested the backbencher would not be much of a loss to the party because he "rarely voted with the government". |
| He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that the choice at the next election was between Labour and the Conservatives, "so to act in a way that makes the Conservative government less likely is senseless and counter-productive." | He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that the choice at the next election was between Labour and the Conservatives, "so to act in a way that makes the Conservative government less likely is senseless and counter-productive." |