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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Michael Savage Policy Editor

Top Tories fuelled riots with ‘divisive language’ on immigration, say party grandees

Former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s ‘Stop the boats’ slogan was chanted by rioters during unrest last week
Former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s ‘Stop the boats’ slogan was chanted by rioters during unrest last week. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Tory grandees have accused senior figures in their own party of using divisive language that inflamed anger over immigration before the recent rioting, amid warnings that too many Conservatives have “turned a blind eye” to a shift to the right.

The criticisms come as fears grow on the party’s liberal wing that the leadership election risks pulling the party further into populist policies designed to take on Reform UK.

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