New Tory Deputy Chair James Daly slated Government record on rape convictions just days ago

Tory MP James Daly has been appointed as the party’s Deputy Chairman

Newly-appointed Conservative Deputy Chairman James Daly slated the Government’s record on crime and immigration.

The Tory MP highlighted failings on deporting failed asylum seekers and prosecuting rapists in his time on the Home Affairs Select Committee. Mr Daly has been handed his role overseeing Conservative campaigning after Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith quit as Party Deputy Chairmen following a disagreement with Rishi Sunak over his Rwanda plan.

The Tory MP represents Bury North, which is the most marginal seat in England after he won it by just 105 votes at the last election. Mr Daly will make his first big appearance in his new job as represents the Conservatives on BBC Question Time on Thursday evening.

When he was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, he raised concerns about the Government’s record.

Just last Wednesday, he challenged Home Secretary James Cleverly over figures from Rape Crisis England & Wales that show 68,109 rapes were recorded by police between July 2022 and June 2023, but by the end of that 12-month period charges had been brought in just 2.2% of cases. “That is 1,498. Why do you think charges have been brought in so few cases?” he asked. “It is a very small amount, isn’t it?”

He added: “One of the grave concerns for me is that the real problem with the system – well, there are lots of problems with the system, but one of the major ones is the fact that the police do not refer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

In a hearing last March, Mr Daly said: “I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that if approximately 90% of rape cases are not referred by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service, that is a fundamental failure of the system.”

The Tory MP has also highlighted issues with deporting those whose asylum applications have been rejected. Speaking in July 2022, he said: “We do not have a functioning immigration policy, as far as I can see. One of the things that would motivate you to come to this country is that there is no way of removing you… Once you are here, you are not going to leave.”

A Labour source said: “James Daly has an enviable and clear-eyed ability to diagnose the many problems that his own Tory party has inflicted on the country after 14 years. From the immigration system, to the unforgivably low charge rate for rape, Daly is bang on the money. The Tories have broken our criminal justice system. Let’s hope he continues to point out the abject failure of 14 years of Tory Government from inside CCHQ.”