This week party members will receive their ballots to vote in the Conservative leadership election.
There are two very strong candidates, but we have to choose between them. I’ve set out the reasons for my own choice below.
It starts with honesty. We need to be clear about why we lost the election. We lost because we were seen as incompetent and divided, and no-one knew what we stood for. This wasn’t entirely fair but it was true enough to turn off millions of voters who left us for Reform, the Lib Dems, Labour, or to stay at home and not vote at all.
To restore our reputation for competence, to unite the Party, and to rediscover what we stand for – we need leadership.
Leadership isn’t about grabbing media attention, though we certainly need a good media performer. It’s about doing the hard work to identify the real causes for our national malaise – on productivity and growth, on defence and security, on social breakdown and the state of the public services – and putting in place a plan to fix them.
It’s about setting a clear direction, with explicit policy commitments on the main issues the voters care about: immigration, the economy and the public services, especially the NHS. When the leader is clear on direction, the troops will unite and follow.
And it’s about being professional, diligent, decent and respectful towards all strands of conservatism (and indeed non-conservatives). We need courage and radicalism, but with the spirit of emollience and courtesy. You don’t win by hectoring people. You win by putting across a clear and persuasive message.
This combination – clarity on policy direction, and an inclusive and generous spirit – is what Robert Jenrick represents. He has set out a detailed analysis of what is wrong with our country, a clear set of Conservative principles to address them, and policies to get there. His pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a case in point.
I like and greatly admire Kemi Badenoch. If Rob had been knocked out of the contest earlier, I would have backed her. Indeed, I backed her in the last leadership contest. I share her politics – pro-Brexit, pro-growth, anti-woke – and I recognise her strengths as a punchy debater and, of course, if Kemi wins this contest, I will gladly follow her. We have a great chance of winning back power from this plainly failing Labour government, and we will need unity to do that. But for the next week we have a choice and I see Robert Jenrick as the stronger of the two