BIRMINGHAM – The four contenders to lead Britain’s Conservative Party took turns in the spotlight on Wednesday, each claiming to be the one who can lead the right-of-center party back from a catastrophic election defeat.
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat were each making impassioned speeches aimed at persuading party members that they have what it takes to turn around public opinion, trounce Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’s Labour Party and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.
That’s a tall order. After years of division, scandal and economic tumult, U.K. voters comprehensively rejected the Tories in a July election, leaving the party that had governed since 2010 with just 121 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The center-left Labour Party won more than 400.
Defeated ex- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who remains caretaker party leader, made only a fleeting visit to the Conservatives’ annual conference in Birmingham, central England. All the focus was on the four leadership candidates — whittled down by lawmakers from an initial six — who spent the four-day gathering gladhanding and speech-making.
Jenrick, a former centrist who has shifted to the right with tough talk on migration, and the energetic libertarian Badenoch are considered the frontrunners. Conservative lawmakers will eliminate two candidates in voting next week. Party members across the country will then vote to pick a winner, who will be announced Nov. 2.
The conference slogan is the subdued “review and rebuild.” But the leadership contest gave the event something of the buzz of a U.S. convention, with huge banners bearing the candidates’ faces and branded merchandise including giant foam fingers for Tugendhat, “We want Bobby J” baseball caps for Jenrick and T-shirts urging people to “Be more Kemi.”
Tugendhat, widely seen as a longshot, spoke first on Wednesday and accused his higher-profile rivals of a “lack of substance … petty point scoring, and self-service” and said his past as a soldier gave him the leadership qualities to “reconnect with the British people … restore trust … win again.”
Cleverly offered an apology, saying “sorry” to people let down by Conservative lawmakers and warning that the party must not “wallow in self-pity” or veer to extremes.
“Let’s be more normal,” said Cleverly, who depicted himself as an optimistic candidate in the mold of “my political hero,” Ronald Reagan.
The victor will take over a party depleted by years of turmoil under ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson — ousted by colleagues in 2022 amid ethics scandals — and his successor Liz Truss. She resigned after just 49 days in office when her tax-cutting plans rocked the financial markets and battered the value of the pound.
In the July election, the Conservatives lost votes to hard-right Reform U.K., led by populist politician Nigel Farage. Though Reform won only five seats, it came second in many more, and its rapid rise has scared some Conservatives into leaning further to the right.
Jenrick argues that the U.K. should drastically curb immigration and leave the European Convention on Human Rights in order to take tough measures to stop people seeking asylum in the U.K.
Nigeria-raised Badenoch evokes Tory icon Margaret Thatcher with her calls for a smaller state, appeals to patriotism and criticism of multiculturalism.
Cleverly and Tugendhat come from a more centrist grouping in the party but have also promised immigration curbs.
Keiran Pedley, director of U.K. politics at pollster Ipsos, said the Conservative Party “faces an uphill battle” whoever leads it.
In an Ipsos poll released Tuesday, 64% of respondents said they didn’t care who became Conservative leader, while 31% said they cared a great deal or a fair amount. The pollster surveyed 1,100 British adults and the margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.
“The public is largely indifferent to the leadership race, and the candidates are relatively unknown,” Pedley said. “Furthermore, the public is skeptical that any of the candidates can beat Keir Starmer in a general election.”
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