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The race to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader is unofficially underway in the wake of the Conservative Party’s wipeout at the general election.
With some frontrunners casting the contest as a battle for the soul of the Conservative Party - after Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK inflicted losses for the Tories in scores of seats - ex-minister Kevin Hollinrake is among those to suggest the race could last until the end of the year, adding: “I don’t think there is any rush”.
While no candidate has yet formally launched a bid, Suella Braverman’s hopes were dealt an early blow, as one source described the twice-sacked home secretary’s campaign to The Times as “dead before it even started”, accusing her of “going too hard, too soon”.
It came as multiple reports suggested right-wing MP Danny Kruger would support Robert Jenrick, further diminishing Ms Braverman’s hopes of being the flagbearer of the Tory right.
Other possible Tory leadership race contenders on the party’s right include Kemi Badenoch and Priti Patel, while James Cleverly, Jeremy Hunt, Tom Tugendhat and Victoria Atkins are among more moderate figures who could launch bids.
Key Points
- Suella Braverman’s Tory leadership bid ‘dead before it starts’
- Contest could drag on until end of the year, ex-minister says
- Runners and riders: Who will vie to replace Rishi Sunak?
Former Tory chair says ‘panicked' lurch to right is ‘almost childlike’
Former Tory chair Lord Pickles has urged the Conservatives to focus on “detoxifying the brand” and “getting back to basic Conservative principes”.
Warning that a combination of “panic and displacement activity” risked seeing the party draw the wrong conclusions from the election result, he told The Observer: “There’s something almost childlike about it – just do this one thing and everything will be better again.
“The problem is not Farage. The problem is us, the Conservative party. We need to rebuild trust, we need to detoxify the brand and we need to start getting back to basic Conservative principles, which are very straightforward – it’s about enterprise, respect of the law and upholding of public service.
“Thatcher understood that. It takes a real leader to hold all those kinds of things together.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 21:02 1720464706Ex-Tory MP says party no longer ‘a viable entity'
Ex-Tory MP Marcus Fysh, a Brexiteer on the right of the party, has suggested it would be better for the country if the Conservatives ceased to to exist.
He told Times Radio: “I just don’t think it is a viable entity anymore. The new composition in parliament means I don’t think there is any chance it will do the things needed to be actually electable again. I’m just calling it how I see it; if it was my business I would wind it up.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 19:51 1720460146Braverman warns Tory party will cease to exist unless it neutralises Farage and Reform
Suella Braverman has become the first potential Conservative leadership candidate to admit that the party’s very existence is now at stake after the most disastrous general election result in its history.
The former home secretary was one of three potential leadership candidates to do the Sunday morning political shows, along with ex-health secretary Victoria Atkins and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick in an attempt to start diagnosing what went wrong.
Speaking on GB News on Sunday, Ms Braverman addressed the surge in support for Mr Farage and Reform and its effect on the Tories, warning: “We are facing an existential crisis. No party has the right to exist.”
Our political editor David Maddox has more in this report:
Braverman says Tory party won’t exist unless it neutralises Farage and Reform
The Tory leadership contest has kicked off with a warning that the Conservative Party could cease to exist as an electoral force if things do not change
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 18:35 1720455680Former Tory minister Damian warns lurch to the right is ‘weapons-grade idiocy'
Seeking to drag the Tory party further to the right is “weapons-grade idiocy”, a former minister has suggested.
Writing for the Observer, Damian Green – who lost his seat in Kent on Thursday – said: “Saying to millions of potential Conservative voters that they are not Conservative enough is weapons-grade idiocy in a first-past-the-post electoral system.
“If the Conservative party starts becoming ideologically exclusive it will wither and die.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 17:21 1720452483How does the Tory leadership contest work?
Under the current rules, the party’s remaining rump of MPs get to decide which of the eventual leadership candidates will make it to the final two.
At that stage more than 100,000 local party members then make their choice and crown the winner.
The first stage of the process will give enormous power to the MPs who have survived the cull.
But who will they plump for? The right of the party accuses Rishi Sunak’s No 10 of trying to rig the vote on his successor by parachuting candidates from the centrist wing into what should be safer seats.
On the other hand, their opponents fear the party is about to stage a lurch to the right, which they argue could condemn it to a long time outside government.
The elephant in the room are fears of a takeover by Reform-backing supporters of Farage, or even Mr Farage himself. Many Conservatives harbour barely conceled fury towards the man who cost many Tory MPs their jobs. But there are some in the party who still want to embrace the populist Reform UK leader.
What happens now to the Tory party? Another leadership race of course
The battle to replace outgoing Rishi Sunak has already begun as Conservatives look to pick up the pieces after a humiliating election drubbing
Kate Devlin, Whitehall Editor8 July 2024 16:28 1720449116Scottish Tory justice spokesperson signals he could run in leadership race
Scottish Tory justice spokesperson Russell Findlay has signalled that he is considering a run at the party leadership north of the border.
Mr Findlay, a former journalist who prior to entering Holyrood was attacked with acid while investigating organised crime in Glasgow, said: “Tories across the UK have taken a beating – although our success in Scotland in holding constituencies shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Everyone should take time to reflect on the message we have been sent.
“Scotland needs to play a big part in rebuilding an election-winning conservative movement and, along with many others, I’ll be taking careful consideration of the new circumstances we are in and of how I can best contribute to that task.”
Jenrick says Tories ‘didn’t do whatever it takes’ on immigration
Robert Jenrick appears to agree with Nigel Farage that immigration was at the heart of the Tory defeat – pointing to a surge in support for Reform in most constituencies the Conservatives lost.
The former immigration minister – and likely Tory leadership hopeful – told the BBC on Sunday: “We didn’t have the willingness to take the tough decisions that were necessary to deliver for the British public; when we said, for example, on immigration that we would do whatever it takes, we didn’t do whatever it takes.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 13:59 1720441841Scottish Tories risk ‘political extinction’ without proper debate on new leader, MSP warns
The Scottish Conservatives could face “political extinction” if they do not have a wide debate on the future leadership of the party, a Tory MSP has warned.
Jamie Greene said there should be no “swift return to business as usual” after his party slumped to its lowest-ever vote share at a general election, returning five MPs north of the border – with current leader Douglas Ross due to stand down after losing his Westminster bid.
However, the contest to replace him will not begin until at least next week as the party’s management board will meet at the weekend to decide on the timeline.
Writing in The Times, Mr Greene said: “Is the Scottish Conservative party leadership hoping for a conveniently short contest, with high barriers to entry, to appoint its preferred candidate?
“Or is it willing to have a real and meaningful conversation about what sort of party they want any new leader to lead? I suspect some grandees prefer the former; a swift return to business as usual. I, however, and many others, believe the latter is a necessity.
“I’ll say this frankly: the party must do this properly to ensure the widest possible debate, lest we risk political extinction.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 13:30 1720436568Government still expects challenge in Commons despite heavy Tory defeat, minister says
New chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said the government will still expect to be challenged in the Commons despite the Tories’ heavy electoral defeat.
He told the BBC: “Of course the Conservatives suffered a historic loss, but that doesn’t mean there’s no opposition in the House of Commons and, of course, we have the House of Lords to get any legislation through as well.
“And the key thing that you’ll see from this Labour government is that we’re going to return both to the service of the British people, but also to the norms. The adults are back in the room.”
Andy Gregory8 July 2024 12:02 1720434752Watch: Kwasi Kwarteng refuses to rule out Tory comeback from himself or Liz Truss
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