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.
The Conservatives have whittled their leadership contest down to four candidates in the second MP’s ballot. Mel Stride (Central Devon/Conservatives) was knocked out yesterday having gained only 13.4% of the votes.
Stride sat just behind James Cleverly (Braintree/Conservatives) and Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge/Conservatives) in joint third place, who both got 17.6% of the vote. In first place was Robert Jenrick (Newark/Conservatives) with 27.7% of the votes.
Kemi Badenoch is a fresh figure in conservatism but relatively inexperienced as well. She, like a few of the other leadership candidates, face a problem of lack of gravity. The likes of Lord Cameron and more recently Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak loom larger.
Her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, however, largely because she tries so hard. She has a campaign of her own – Renewal 2030 – that pledges to restore the party. It’s underpinned by a belief Starmer takes off Blair too much and Reform UK threaten to undermine the party also.
Indeed, in an article written three days before the election she said Labour winning would “surrender” Number 10 to the enemy. These are strong terms, but Badenoch knows her territory. She even defended Nigel Farage when Natwest debanked him, so she’s cut her teeth too.