Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis: 'We have huge responsibility to keep Corbyn out'

Mr Lewis is keen to stress that he has devoted himself since landing the chairman’s role in January to what he describes as a “hugely important job”. 

“I personally have zero tolerance towards abuse of any kind,” he tells me, clearly aiming to put the Conservative Party on a different level to that of a Labour Party riddled with allegations of  antisemitism and misogyny.

“Earlier this year, I went to the Conservative Councillors’ Conference. I made it clear as we launched the respect code — I was very upfront — that we will suspend anyone who goes near breaching the code. 

“I think we should have robust debate. I will take on Diane Abbott every day that she cannot add up. But it has to be about policy, not personality or any other kind of abuse.”

But while Labour has failed to deal with its own crisis over Jew-hatred, I suggest to Mr Lewis that his own party is facing increasing attacks that it has failed to deal with a rising tide of Islamophobia within its ranks, most infamously from the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson about Muslim women wearing the full burqa.

“In terms of Islamophobia, since I stated we have had 10, maybe 11, cases. All have been dealt with. 

“Whether it’s that somebody has a particular colour skin, wears glasses, is a woman — I will not tolerate that kind of abuse. 

“The best way to deal with this is to send a very clear message — we just will not tolerate it.”

In a clear reference to the investigation launched by the party into Mr Johnson’s comments, he says: “I can’t comment on individual cases, but every case we have had this year we have dealt with.”

But Mr Lewis is more guarded over the recent decision made by Conservative MEPs to vote with the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán against European Union action to protect the rule of law in his country.

The Board of Deputies were among communal groups to rebuke the party, saying it was “very concerning” that the Tories had backed Mr Orbán’s government, which it accused of “whipping up prejudice” and deploying “vivid antisemitism.”

“I am not part of the Conservative MEP group’s conversation — but we have got to be careful,” says Mr Lewis. “With European structures and how they work we’ve got to be careful we don’t allow something to become over-politicised. 

“In this case it actually helps him domestically at home by having that kind of robustness. It’s what he wants. There is an argument that we don’t give that more oxygen.”

The 47-year-old former Immigration Minister is on far more comfortable territory discussing his party’s continued support for f Israel, along with what he says is a total lack of antisemitism among members. 

“When you read the scale of the cases the Labour Party are dealing with compared to our 11 cases [of Islamophobia]  this year, I think it shows the Conservative Party does get it,” he argues. “We are also doing more. We’ve got a new director of training, we are a launching at conference next week  a big new training programme, a whole new academy. We are working with Tell Mama around diversity training to show our associations how to deal with these things. It’s about being very firm. 

“I don’t think we’ve had a single case of antisemitism. As someone who is of Jewish background myself, I’m sure.”

He also disputes recent reports that Theresa May has been hypocritical in attacking Labour over its failure to adopt the full IHRA antisemitism definition. It is suggested that while the government had adopted it in 2016, the Tory Party had not. “It was adopted by the government and party,” he insists, suggesting there was a minor error in failing to update the party website until recently to show this.

We discuss the spectacle of Palestinian flag waving at Labour conference this week. He insists Conservative respect for the state of Israel can be assured. “The proof of that is in our actions. We have a consistent position on it throughout the party.

“We have a Prime Minister who has been very clear about her support. I’ve got very strong links with Conservative Friends of Israel.”

Mr Lewis insists next week’s conference will be “positive”.

“We have got to put positive things on the table,” he says. “We have got to get houses built, we have got to make sure there is good child care, good education — our plans are for delivering on that and the NHS. 

“Important as Brexit is, and it’s a massive thing, we’ve got get the domestic agenda right as well.”

Mr Lewis says he is genuinely upset over the direction of Labour. It is a “real shame” the party is now “basically an academic debating society rather than looking out for the best interests of the country.”

He adds “If you look through history – not just through Blair and Brown, but also during John Smith and Neil Kinnock, we may have disagreed on issues and felt we had better policies for the country but ultimately every politician was trying to work on making the country better.”