After suffering a landslide election defeat, Conservative leadership hopefuls are grappling with how to move forward and shape the future direction of the party. The party now only has 121 MPs, down 251, as Labour secured a decisive win. Current party leader, Rishi Sunak, has pledged to remain in his role until a replacement is selected, but none of the party’s surviving MPs have confirmed their intention to run in the leadership contest. A timetable for this is yet to be announced as well.
Party grandees will reconvene next week to determine the process by which the next leader will be chosen, but an internal debate is brewing on whether to shift further towards the right to attract the 4.1 million voters who supported Reform UK. Prominent Conservative figures Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, and Tom Tugendhat have been touted as possible leadership contenders, while potential candidates have dwindled due to the party’s lacklustre election performance.
While some in the party, such as veteran MP Sir Edward Leigh, have advocated for the Tories to court Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, others, including former cabinet minister Damian Green, have called this move “utterly disastrous” as it would lead to the loss of millions of other votes on the party’s voter coalition. Nonetheless, many MPs believe the party needs to work on regaining its voter base by demonstrating competence and offering policies that align with their values within a broad conservative framework.
As Conservative MPs plot their way forward, one key issue they will grapple with is deciding where the party stands on the economy. Miriam Cates believes that the Conservatives can win back those who opted to vote for Reform UK, but they must take into account that many small-c conservatives who previously voted for the party stayed at home. Alongside this, Tobias Ellwood has warned against choosing a new leader too quickly, as it could lead to short-sighted decisions, while William Hague believes the party should wait until after their Autumn conference to announce Mr Sunak’s successor
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