Tory bigwigs warn of ‘monumental’ party rebuild as power struggle erupts on eve of conference

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Tory bigwigs have warned Conservative Party leadership candidates not to play into the hands of Reform UK as the battle threatens to turn into a power struggle with the annual conference starting in Birmingham on Sunday.

As MPs and activists flock to the International Convention Centre, former Prime Minister Theresa May and ex-Tory leader William Haag said those vying to replace Rishi Sunak must recognize the scale of the defeat suffered by the Conservatives in July.

Lord Haag said the party must understand the scale of its general election defeat and the monumental task it has in getting ready for government again.

He told BBC Radio 4 Westminster hour: “They have to understand how big it is. It’s always tempting to think you only need to change a little, when in reality you need to change a lot.

“This is a monumental task and, precisely because the Labor government has had a difficult first three months, no one should be under any illusions that it will be an easy task.”

And when asked what advice he would give to the successful leadership candidate, he added: “It will be a long shot. The Labor government will be vulnerable, even in four or five years.

“But that doesn’t mean that people will see the Conservatives as the natural replacement for them unless we have a very determined leader who can convey values, appeal to new generations and talk about the issues of the future.”

Meanwhile, Lady May registers The timeswarned that the Conservative Party “failed to see the threat from the Liberal Democrats” while focusing too much on reform.

But she said the remaining Tory leadership candidates could be “playing into the hands of reform” by failing to understand why they lost the general election.

The former prime minister said the Conservatives lost power in July not because of policy, but because the party had “destroyed our brand” and lost its reputation for “integrity and competence.”

Lady May blamed the Partygate scandal and Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget, adding that the Tories had “moved to the right for too long to appease potential reform voters” and had “forgotten that we are not a right-wing party, just one center. -right party”.

But before the conference had even started, a row broke out when Kemi Badenoch accused her right-wing leadership rival Robert Jenrick of playing “dirty tricks” by inviting others to “take a hit on her”.

The former business secretary, seen as the most popular candidate among Tory members, warned Mr Jenrick’s team not to try to “stitch together” MPs’ ballot papers, preventing her from progressing to the final round.

Allies of Ms Badenoch have previously suggested Mr Jenrick is lending votes to James Cleverly to ensure he reaches the final two.

“If MPs try to close it, I think members will be very angry,” Ms Badenoch said The times. Asked if she thinks he is trying to close it, Ms Badenoch said: “I think that could happen.”

And ahead of the four days that would be dominated by brutal clashes between the leadership candidates, she added: “I don’t mind if other candidates attack me because they show more about themselves than about me.” she says. “I am a family person.”

Responding to the criticism, Mr Jenrick described her opposition to an immediate withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as “fantasy”.

He supports Britain’s withdrawal to make it easier to deport migrants, but he is told not to The Daily Telegraph: “There are others, like Kemi, who argue that we should try to reform our membership of the European Court. That’s a fantasy.”

The leadership row threatens to overshadow the Tory conference and dominate headlines. Former Home Secretary Mr Cleverly is trying to portray himself as a unifying figure and released a statement saying: “On the eve of the Conservative Party Conference, my message is clear. We must unite and we have not a second to lose.”

The four-day jamboree will see Ms Badenoch, Mr Jenrick, Mr Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat parade themselves in front of party members in what is being described as a beauty pageant to shore up support before the final two contenders are voted on next month.

There will be two official leadership events, speeches from the four contenders, as well as question and answer sessions, side events and drinks as they make their case to the Tory base.

But Labor capitalized on the wrangling by claiming Tory leadership candidates have “learned absolutely nothing” from the party’s worst election defeat in history.

Referring to Labour’s devastating defeat under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019, the party’s worst since 1935, Cabinet Secretary Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Mr McFadden, said it was shocking that there was “so little appetite for change”. in battle.

Mr McFadden added: “In 2019, when Labor recorded its worst result since 1935, we knew we had to change from top to bottom. Worldview, policy and culture.

“It is shocking that after such a terrible election result there is so little appetite for change in the Tory leadership election. They seem to think that if they shout the same message louder, voters will admit they were wrong. And they are so afraid of reform that they have given up all claims to the center.

Mr Cleverly said Labor is targeting the Conservatives “because they are embroiled in scandal” over the thousands of pounds in freebies and donations received by Sir Keir Starmer and his top team.

But a spokesperson for Reform UK told the Conservatives: “In stark contrast to the vibrant energy of the Reform Conference, this Tory conference is a wake.”

The conference will be the first meeting of the party as a whole since the number of Conservatives fell from 344 MPs to just 121. It will be a marked contrast to last year’s meeting, when Sunak’s government unveiled a series of high-profile policies at a last-ditch effort to turn around the Tories’ faltering fortunes.

This year, Mr Sunak will welcome members and thank those who worked on the party’s election campaign, but all eyes will be on the four leadership hopefuls.

The current favorite in the contest is Mr Jenrick, a former immigration minister under Mr Sunak, who resigned after urging the prime minister to strengthen his Rwanda deportation plan. In the second round of MPs’ voting, Mr Jenrick came out on top, with the support of 33 of his colleagues.

Ms Badenoch, who competed with Mr Jenrick for the support of the Tory right, won the support of 28 MPs. Mr Tugendhat and Mr Cleverly, seen as representatives of the party’s moderate wing, won 21 votes each.

After the party conference, the race will be narrowed down to two candidates before members take part in an online vote between October 10 and 31. The new Tory leader will be announced on November 2.

All Tory leadership candidates were contacted for comment.