What The Next Tory Leader Must Do

Kevan James

October 3, 2024

Many have watched the four contenders for leadership of the Conservative party, perhaps, given the mass exodus of the summer from its voter ranks, merely out of curiosity rather than genuine interest. This is arguably an understandable viewpoint given the sense of betrayal felt by many who voted Conservative previously.

Therein lies the rub – all four vying to lead the party suffer from the same thing, namely that all played prominent roles in the last government, spent under Rishi Sunak, the short-lived Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, under whom their stars could be said to have begun rising.

Rightly or wrongly, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugenhat are all perceived to have been plotting to remove Johnson and Truss in order to insert their chosen one, Sunak, into the Prime Ministership.

Aside from that, the four have also been heavily involved running the country – and in most eyes, not very well. The relentless rises in taxes, the cost of living, energy, food and so on, not to mention the remorseless continuation of illegal entry to the UK, all have been laid at their respective doors. And on top of that, there is involvement with outside organisations, the World Economic Forum (WEF) being the most oft-quoted.

How do any of the four overcome those factors, and rebuild trust and belief in their party? Many on social media have said they can’t, won’t and the Tories are finished. I do not believe this.

I do not for a number of reasons. High among them is the state of the Labour party. This is a movement that currently bears little or no resemblance to that which preceded it at least as far back as 1997. Up until that year, Labour was a party that contained a number of people who, whilst I personally may have disagreed with their politics, at least commanded some respect. Some had served their country in armed conflict and none could be reliably described as ‘anti-British’, a remark frequently directed at today’s version.

So depending on what may or may not transpire between now and 2029, when the next general election is due to be held (and I don’t discount the possibility of an early poll), one can reasonably suggest that Labour will not be re-elected.

The Liberal Democrats made something of a comeback in 2024, returning 72 MPs. But that was largely due to disaffected Tory voters and those who voted ‘tactically’ for them as well as their more loyal members. However, the stunt-loving Ed Davey is not someone who comes across as a potential Prime Minister so it’s once again reasonable to suggest they will not gain sufficient MPs to form a government.

None of the smaller parties have the resources to seriously mount a challenge but that doesn’t preclude them having some influence.

That leaves only the Conservatives - and Reform.

Nigel Farage has stated two things; one is that he will be leader until the next general election and the other is that he is not interested in any kind of deal with the Tories. The key is Farage himself. Reform is very much a Farage bandwagon (as was UKIP before it) and even though he retains much support, he is also a divisive figure. Some believe that he will ‘lose interest’ if Reform’s current support either fails to grow or falls away.

Reform however, and again being realistic, have an awful lot to do if they are to really mount a challenge to form a government in 2029. And that includes coming to some kind of accommodation with the Conservatives.

Again a personal view but I believe there is room for the Tories and Reform as separate parties. One of the biggest mistakes Reform made prior to the election was targeting the Tories, with Richard Tice stating he wanted to ‘obliterate them.’

The real enemy of both is Labour.

Reform must of course, go their own way and build a movement along with the financial support but the Conservatives already have that support. Granted it is somewhat dormant right now but the performance of Labour thus far has rather concentrated everybody’s minds; who can honestly say that, had they known in July what they know now and less than three months later, that they would have stood idly by and not voted, voted Liberal Democrat or for anybody else?

One might suspect enough would still have voted Tory just to keep Labour out or at the very least, to cut Labour’s House of Commons majority substantially.

On that particular aspect, Labour’s apparent commanding majority is built on sand – fewer voted Labour in 2024 than voted for the Jeremy Corbyn-led version in 2019 and Labour are thus a minority government - despite the numbers in the Commons. And that’s primarily due to the numbers who did not vote.

So what does the next Tory leader need to do?

Firstly, prohibit all its MPs from being members of or actively involved with any outside organisation. Put clear blue water between the Tories and Starmer, who famously said prior to the election that he would take more notice of Davos then the UK parliament. That includes second jobs, directorships and so on.

A Member of the UK Parliament cannot serve both the British people and somebody else.

Secondly, clear out entirely the party’s central offices, known usually as CCHQ. Since the days of Michael Howard and David Cameron, this has been packed to the gills with paid officials, none of whom have ever been elected, and who currently hold enormous power over the way in which the Tories do things. This applies in particular to candidate selection. CCHQ has become notorious for imposing its preferred candidates on local associations, whether that association wants them or not. It has to stop with selections returned to local level.

Abandon net zero. This will not go down well with those who shout loudly (extraordinarily so) for so-called ‘green’ initiatives but as matters stand, the thoughtless rush towards imposing arbitrary targets on various things is quite deranged.

Yes, the party (and for that matter the rest of us) must acknowledge that humanity as a whole has done some harm to the planet and its atmosphere and we need to alter the way we do things. But a mad charge towards ‘eliminating carbon’ has to end.

The party must adopt a clear, easy-to-understand strategy on illegal entry to the UK (meaning small boats crossing the channel or equally illegal entry elsewhere and via other means). That also means a strategy for allowing legitimate claims for asylum and at the front of that, the plain fact that there are numerous other countries between the UK and the usual point of origins for genuine claimants.

This leads neatly to the question of the European Court of Human Rights, the ECHR. The ECHR is run by the Council of Europe – no, not the EU’s European Council, that’s a different beast and we aren’t in it.

The new Tory leader must affirm a commitment to the Council and the ECHR. It means acknowledging that there already exist clauses that allow for deportations and expulsions.

However, the real problem is that the European Human Rights Act (the HRA), which the ECHR oversees, is also part of UK law - unlike everywhere else. So repeal it and put the UK back on the same footing as the rest of the members of the Council of Europe.

There are of course a huge host of things the Tories need to do, including restoring the Winter Fuel Allowance and generally looking after pensioners better, ending the obsession with youth – everybody matters, regardless of their age; law and order and a mutually beneficial relationship with the EU. Returning the country to a small-state-less-government approach, lower taxes (on everything!), less interference in people’s lives. Put another way, start banning the bans.

End the hysterical overreaction and pandering to those mentioned earlier, those who shout the loudest.

All this is merely a snapshot of what needs to be done. A detailed examination would be hundreds of pages long but it is at least a start. It won’t be easy or necessarily quick so there is one other thing, above all else that must be done, and it can be done immediately.

Be straight with people. Be honest. Tell the truth. No more lies – about anything. Members of Parliament are there to serve the people, not the other way around.

Make these commitments and the Conservatives have a chance.

© Kevan James 2024

 Image - Getty

Agree or Disagree?

What’s your view?

Email us and have your say.