In the final countdown for the Conservative leadership, candidate Robert Jenrick MP (Newark/Conservatives) has taken aim at the party for a supposed lack of “respect” for its membership.
His proposal is to make GBNews host and former MP Jacob Rees Mogg its new chairman. The idea may restore a sense of conservatism to it, but it may take more to bolster member confidence.
Tom Tugendhat MP (Tonbridge/Conservatives) has lost his place in the running to be the next Conservative leader.
He got 16.8% of the vote compared to frontrunner James Cleverly (Braintree/Conservatives) who got 32.8%.
The MP’s phase of ballot’s is due to conclude tomorrow as the remaining candidates are reduced to two.
Next, party members will get the chance to vote for the winner in the hopes of winning back the keys to Number 10.
The four candidates left willing to stand for the Conservative leadership race will find out who’s going through to its final ballot next week. The next stage after is the membership vote so it’s nail biting stuff.
It’s worth thinking back on the last five leaders they’ve had, because all of them have been Prime Ministers and led the country through some testing times. They even saw out Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Presently the political furore is largely centred around Sir Keir Starmer and his alleged dealings with a Labour donor, but the small boats crisis continues and in spite of policy pronouncements, it hasn’t stopped.
It isn’t particularly scientific to imagine what each of the candidates might be able to achieve if they were to have at it now, and neither is it appropriate since the party itself is trying to decide its own way forward.
Aside from MP’s said to be feeling under threat, Conservative leadership candidate Priti Patel MP is at least willing to go out.
Patel was re-elected for Witham with 32.7% of the vote, a drop from 66.6% in 2019. It came in an election that went down as disastrous for the Conservative party.
It’s not a good result, but this campaign is about party members and not just anyone’s next-door neighbour.
The reaction at hustings events and meet-and-greets across the country is key. She’s been to Somerset, the East Midlands, and Harrogate to name a few locations.
She’s had a good time as well, by the looks of it. Her Facebook profile is replete with happy, smily pictures.
Her platform is less happy and snappy, and more serious, however.
Her campaign slogan is “Unite to Win” and touts 30 years of experience behind her of serving the party. In real terms, you’d imagine this counts for little.
Yet after a bruising defeat, a more outgoing and lasting leadership may be what’s needed. In hindsight, it may be Patel’s year after all.