Over the coming weeks, CapX will be running a number of perspectives on the future of the Conservative Party. If you have an idea you would like to contribute, get in touch at [email protected].
Until 4 July, we were all Conservative MPs. Unfortunately, alongside 250 of our colleagues, each of us found ourselves a casualty of the general election.
We now stand at a crossroads and need to act decisively and urgently to reunite and rebuild our party, so that seats like ours are won back at the earliest possible opportunity. We also need to end what has been perceived as the ‘Tory Psychodrama’ that has plagued our Party for too long.
The truth is that we have a record we can be truly proud of; education standards in England are at a record high, we led the world in supporting Ukraine, we cut crime and invested record sums in some of the most neglected parts of the country. Too often, we all found that the good work our party was doing in government was overshadowed by in-fighting and scandal.
It is time that we made the case for conservatism again. Border control, higher defence spending, lower taxes, a smaller state and a free market are the conservative values that we must unite over. We need to make sure that people are proud to go out and vote Conservative again, and win back the voters that we lost to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform – as well as those who decided to sit it out and stay at home. The person that can make sure we do that is James Cleverly.
James is clear that we must look forward instead of backwards, and focus on what we are for rather than against. We cannot be complacent, or wait for the political pendulum to swing back to us.
As James has said, now is not the time for an apprentice. He is easily the most experienced candidate, having been Party Chairman, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary. As Party Chairman, he helped Boris Johnson deliver the 80-seat majority that broke the deadlock and got Brexit done. He knows what we need to do to get back to winning ways.
As Foreign Secretary, he led on support for Ukraine and Israel. As Home Secretary, he took action to cut migration. He doesn’t just talk; he acts.
James has reinforced in the last few days why he is the right candidate to be Leader. His performance at conference was standout; as evidenced by the phenomenal reaction from both members and the media.
We do not have time for a leader to learn on the job. The Labour Government is already failing. They do not have the answers to the biggest problems facing our country today and are taking us backwards. We must provide the conservative solutions to these problems, because we know the solutions of the Left don’t and won’t work. James has always been consistent on his values as a Conservative.
We don’t have a second to waste. It is nothing short of a disgrace that there are parts of this country without a single Conservative MP; including Cornwall, Oxfordshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire and Wales. We need to be ready to win next May in the local elections; in elections for the Senedd and Holyrood, and in the next general election. We are at a critical moment; we need to vote for James and get on with the business of the future.
This piece is co-authored by 20 former Conservative MPs who lost their seats in the general election:
Shaun Bailey (Tipton and Wednesbury), Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe), James Davies (Clwyd East), Simon Fell (Barrow and Furness), Anna Firth (Southend West and Leigh), Mark Fletcher (Bolsover), Vicky Ford (Chelmsford), Fay Jones (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe), Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth), Scott Mann (North Cornwall), James Morris (Halesowen), Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall), John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare), Tom Pursglove (Corby and East Northamptonshire), David Rutley (Macclesfield), Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield), Andrew Stephenson (Pendle and Clitheroe), James Sunderland (Bracknell), Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole), Giles Watling (Clacton)
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