A Tory leadership hopeful has been told he “won’t be Prime Minister” in a brutal assessment of the party’s fortunes during a TV interview.
Mel Stride – a loyal ally of the defeated ex-PM Rishi Sunak – appeared on GB News to set out why he is the best candidate to rebuild the Conservatives. But he was told bluntly by the ex-Tory MP and presenter Michael Portillo: “If you win the position of leader of the opposition, you won’t be Prime Minister.”
Last month the Conservatives’ 14-year spell in government was brought to a brutal end as the party suffered its worst ever General Election result with the loss of 251 MPs.
But Mr Stride, the ex-Work and Pensions Secretary, replied: “I simply do not accept that. If you were interviewing me after the 2019 General Election and heaven forbid I was a socialist, you would be saying this is the worst result since the 1930s, there is no conceivable way you are going to be in government in 2024. And yet look what happened – there are no rules left in politics”.
The Tory leadership contender also claimed he had the charisma to take the party forward, with members at hustings apparently telling him: “You have been a revelation.”
He added: “During the General Election when it was really tough, I and my colleagues had a simple choice – did we stand up and put our head above the parapet and go out and defend our party to the best of our ability… or do we go and do something else.
“I did a quarter of the media rounds for the Conservative during that run-up to the General Election and I did it because I had the courage to do it. I had the ability to do it, the communication skills to do it and I think I was instrumental in helping even what was admittedly a very difficult situation.”
Mr Stride is among six Tory MPs – including James Cleverly, Dame Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat – who are vying to become leader of the opposition.
The candidates will be whittled down to four next month before making their case to Tory members at the party’s annual conference in September. A final two contenders will face a vote among members that will be announced on November 2, meaning Mr Sunak is being forced to remain in charge until then.
But last week polling also showed an overwhelming majority of the public don’t care who becomes the next Tory leader. A massive 62% said they aren’t bothered who takes over from Mr Sunak after the party’s General Election mauling.