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Tory grandee Damian Green, who was deputy prime minister under Theresa May, has urged fellow moderate party members to get behind Kemi Badenoch in the leadership election.
The significant intervention by the former chair of the liberal One Nation caucus of Conservative MPs came after the Tory Reform Group (TRG) on the left of the party refused to endorse either right-wing candidate.
This was followed by Tory moderates announcing they would boycott a contest where the last centrist candidate James Cleverly was eliminated by MPs, meaning there was only a choice of two members from the right of the party.
Mr Green described these reports as “disturbing” and warned that liberal Tories like him still need to choose the best candidate to rebuild the party, and one who will give them a voice in that process.
Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Mr Green said: “Since the final two candidates for the Conservative leadership have been chosen there have been disturbing reports of moderate party members saying they won’t vote. They supported one of the other candidates and they now feel neglected.
“I also supported another candidate, Tom Tugendhat, as strongly as I could. But I have every intention of using my vote in the members’ part of the election, not just because you should always use a vote if you have one, but because I think there is a candidate that can unite the party around a positive agenda.
“That candidate is Kemi Badenoch. She and I clearly come from different Conservative traditions, but she is making interesting points about the issues that matter to voters, and she has a project for redefining conservatism to make it relevant in the new era.”
He went on: “Kemi clearly recognises the enormous task the party faces in making itself an effective governing machine again and in regaining the trust of the British people.
“This will not be done by lurching right or left chasing individual groups of voters, but by creating a positive vision of Conservatism around which the party can unite. I hope One Nation Conservatives can and will play a full role in this.”
Ms Badenoch has been trying to win a broader appeal among the party faithful and topped the final poll with MPs on 42 to Robert Jenrick’s 41. But critics claim she has become best known for her forays into the culture wars and her clashes with former Doctor Who actor David Tennant over trans issues.
Meanwhile, Mr Jenrick has tried to go even further right with his demands that the UK leaves the European Convention of Human Rights and his use of inflammatory language on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Ms Badenoch’s speech at the party conference earlier this month impressed Mr Green, who believes she is the best chance for the party to remodel itself as an election-winning machine.
In the speech, she made a virtue of her background as an engineer in fixing problems and rebuilding things when they are broken.
Unlike Mr Jenrick, she has avoided committing herself to specific policies to allow for more flexibility in bringing the party together over a new policy platform.
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