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].
As Thatcherites who believe in lower taxes, entrepreneurship and the nation state, we believe Robert Jenrick is the strongest candidate to lead the Conservative Party.
Rob’s life story is a conservative one. It began in 1980s Wolverhampton. Born to working-class parents from Manchester and Liverpool, Rob witnessed them build a successful business from scratch through hard work and determination. It was Thatcher’s Britain that liberated our economy and gave families like Rob’s the opportunity to get ahead, build a business and save money for the future.
Rob understands why we lost so badly in the general election. In fact, he is the only candidate who has set out a coherent diagnosis of what went wrong. It wasn’t because we were too ‘right’ wing or ‘left’ wing. It was because we didn’t deliver what we promised in 2019. Yes, we got Brexit done, but we didn’t end the cycle of low growth, control immigration and strengthen the NHS. That’s why we lost voters across the board: to Labour, to Reform and to the traditional Conservative voters who stayed at home.
We believe Rob is best placed to win back these voters.
He has a strong record of delivery. In government, he slashed regulation to help small businesses survive Covid. He delivered brownfield regeneration by reforming our planning rules to fast-track transforming disused buildings on our high streets. And he played a critical role in expanding freeports across the UK to attract investment and turbocharge Britain’s growth post-Brexit.
As Immigration Minister, he persuaded the Prime Minister to cut net migration by 300,000 and fought to strengthen the Rwanda Policy. When he couldn’t secure any more improvements, he took a stand and resigned. The proof of his convictions is why he defied the polls and won his seat when every other Conservative MP in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire lost.
This Labour government isn’t serious about reducing net migration to sustainable levels and they won’t stop the boats. We need Rob to speak up in opposition for the millions of ordinary people feeling the impact of mass migration: weaker public services, fractured communities, and a lack of affordable housing. As one of the most important issues facing our country and part of the reason for the Reform Party’s rise, our next leader must have credibility on immigration. Rob’s the best person on that.
On the economy, our state spending to GDP and the tax burden are reaching unprecedented levels. We won’t return to growth and high productivity until we provide a coherent conservative alternative to Labour’s policy of tax and spend. Rob’s belief in supply-side reform, public sector reform and the dynamic effect of tax cuts offers a blueprint of doing so.
Rob knows we need a patriotic party that believes in small business, entrepreneurship, the family, secure borders and lower taxes. He’s determined to rebuild that same party that delivered the economic conditions that allowed his parents, and so many others, to thrive in the 1980s and 1990s.
Margaret Thatcher rescued our country from stagnation and decline, and we believe Rob can too.
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