A shadow minister has said he “desperately hopes” the Conservative Party can avoid another leadership contest in a few years time.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow science secretary, was asked whether the winner of the 2024 race could eventually be ousted by Conservative MPs, paving the way for a further Tory leadership contest in time.
In 2022, following Boris Johnson’s defenestration as prime minister, the Conservatives held two separate leadership races, electing Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in consecutive contests following the former’s untimely downfall.
There is also precedent for the Conservative Party removing a leader in opposition. In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith was elected Tory leader only to be removed from office two years later in 2003 amid widespread disenchantment with the party’s direction among MPs.
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Asked if history could repeat itself this parliament, Andrew Griffith told Sky News: “I desperately hope not.”
Griffith, who is a supporter of Kemi Badenoch, said his party has to “choose to get behind” the new leader and “work constructively”.
He added: “So whoever is elected, we need to unite, and we need to take the fight to this government.”
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Last week, Conservative Peer Ruth Davidson predicted there will be another leadership contest in two years, mirroring the downward trajectory of Duncan Smith’s tenure as Tory leader.
Baroness Davidson told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast that Conservative Party conference earlier this month showed that both Badenoch and Robert Jenrick can “make mistakes”.
During Conservative Party conference, Jenrick claimed the SAS was being forced to kill rather than capture terrorists because the European Court of Human Rights “will set them free” — prompting fierce rebukes from his rivals.
Meanwhile, Badenoch was forced to defend comments she made about “excessive” maternity pay and civil servants being jailed.
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Jenrick and Badenoch, both former cabinet ministers on the right of the party, emerged as the Tory leadership contest’s the final two candidates last week after the unexpected elimination of James Cleverly, considered by some to be the frontrunner.
The former home secretary received 37 votes, losing out to Badenoch and Jenrick who won the support of 42 and 41 Conservative MPs respectively.
However, Baroness Davidson said both the remaining candidates had shown a “misunderstanding of what growing from opposition is”.
“It’s about persuading people”, she said, “it’s about telling them that they can trust you, that you can deliver for them.
She added: “It’s a lot of round tables. It’s a lot of listening. It’s a lot of bringing people onside. It’s a lot of being humble and asking for people to help you.
“Neither of them, I think, are suited to that in terms of their personality types. And I think that’s a problem.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
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