Robert Jenrick urged Tories to reignite the spirit of Thatcher, scrap European human rights laws and secure borders today as he laid out his case to activists.
The former immigration minister – seen by many as the frontrunner – said the party must be ‘honest’ about its legacy, including the failure to bring down inflows and ‘Stop the Boats’.
‘The country just doesn’t trust us,’ he said. ‘We failed to deliver the strong NHS, the strong economy and yes the strong border that we promised. Friends we must never fail our people again.’
Robert Jenrick urged Tories to reignite the spirit of Margaret Thatcher in his conference speech today.
The leadership candidate noted how, in 1974, the Conservative Party while in opposition ‘made a big decision’ and ‘chose to change our leadership and our policies’.
Mr Jenrick hailed how those changes ‘took us to victory in 1979’ under the leadership of his ‘heroine’ Mrs Thatcher.
Later in his speech, the ex-immigration minister made a comparison between the position the Tories are in now and when Mrs Thatcher was elected party leader.
‘1974. 2024. A country facing big challenges. A Labour government with no answers. And a Conservative Party facing a choice,’ he added.
But political experts pointed to a glaring problem with Mr Jenrick’s analogy… Mrs Thatcher was elected Tory leader in 1975.
Despite potshots from rivals for ‘walking away’ from government in protest at the Rwanda plan being too weak, Mr Jenrick insisted that was the only thing that meant he hung on to his seat at the election.
In a rousing appeal, he said he was from the tradition of ‘Magna Carta’ and spoke of how the Tories changed leadership and direction in 1974, with Margaret Thatcher taking the helm.
He committed to leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to deal with Channel boat arrivals. He said the UK would no longer be open to everyone ‘and their relatives’.
Mr Jenrick pledged to crack down on the ‘bloated’ foreign aid budget and pump defence spending up to 3 per cent of GDP.
He also launched a culture wars attack at Keir Starmer saying he would ‘take the knee but he will never take a stand’, and could not see why Britain is great.
‘The country needs a leader, instead with Starmer we have an undertaker,’ he said, comparing Rachel Reeves to ‘Pinochio’ and Ed Miliband to ‘Wallace missing his Gromit’.
Exhorting activists to ‘come with me’, he said: ‘Our party is at its best when we friends are the trade union of the working people of this country.
‘Britain rises when all our people rise, all of them.’
Mr Jenrick was the third contender to take to the stage on the last day of the party’s conference in Birmingham. MPs will whittle them down to a final two before members choose Rishi Sunak’s replacement on November 2.
James Cleverly urged Tory members to give ‘a mixed race boy from Lewisham’ a shot at becoming prime minister today as he made his pitch to become party leader.
The former home secretary opened up about his childhood and his wife Susie’s battle with breast cancer as he addressed the Conservative faithful in Birmingham.
And he was very blunt that he would not entertain any deals with Nigel Farage and Reform to try to win back rightwing former supporters who defected at the election.
Tom Tugendhat
James Cleverly
Robert Jenrick
Kemi Badenoch
He attacked Reform as a ‘pale imitation’ of the Tories and demanded they were ‘authentic’ in order to beat Labour again.
He was applauded as he repeated his backing for stamp duty to be abolished – and when he mentioned his love of Warhammer figurines.
And he joined fellow candidate Tom Tugendhat in attacking frontrunner Robert Jenrick over immigration. The former home secretary pointly said he did not ‘walk away’ when the job got tough, a reference to Mr Jenrick resigning as immigration minister earlier this year.
Mr Cleverly has spoken about his wife’s battle with breast cancer, which left his children ‘distraught’.
In a speech to the Tory Party conference, he said: ‘As you know, my wife Susie recently battled with breast cancer, and when we found out she had cancer, it rocked our lives.
‘I could hardly speak, our boys were distraught, but because of the amazing professionals, the doctors and the nurses of the NHS, her life was saved.
‘So to all those in the NHS, I say, thank you.’
It came after Tom Tugendhat insisted he can be the next PM, asking activists whether they were choosing for ‘opposition’ or Downing Street.
Speaking seemingly without notes as he stalked the stage, Mr Tugendhat said he could ‘feel the hope’ that there is a ‘way back’ into power.
‘I’ve had enough of Westminster’s games and petty point-scoring,’ Mr Tugendhat said in an apparent swipe at his rivals.
‘I’m standing to lead not just this party but to become the next Conservative PM of this great country.’
Talking up his record of serving in the army, Mr Tugendhat said he would recover the voters the Tories had lost to Reform, the Lib Dems and Labour.
‘If you stayed at home I want to make you proud to vote Conservative again,’ he insisted.
He joked that even prolific Labour donor Lord Alli could not ‘afford Labour’, saying Keir Starmer was heading the most ‘venal’ administration in decades.
He argued that Sir Keir’s mandate was already ‘evaporating’ and the Conservatives must be ready with ‘patriotism and purpose’.
‘My mission is to win the next general election and I have never failed a mission yet,’ he said.
Mr Tugendhat pointed to his support for a 100,000 cap on net immigration, but cautioned that tax cuts had to be grounded in a wider strategy.
In another dig at his fellow contenders,, Mr Tugendhat said: ‘My opponents claim that they’ve got more management around the Cabinet table… but I’m not here to manage, I’m here to lead.’
He also vowed support for Israel after Iranian missile strikes overnight.
‘In the face of aggression or when our freedoms are threatened I will always remember my pledge to keep the country safe,’ he said.
Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are seen as the front runners after topping the ballot of MPs. But Ms Badenoch has been struggling to quell a spat over suggesting maternity pay is ‘excessive’.
And Mr Jenrick is facing a furious backlash from his rivals over a campaign video in which he claimed British forces were killing terrorists rather than capturing them to dodge European human rights rules.
Mr Tugendhat retorted that Mr Jenrick ‘knows nothing’ about sensitive military issues.
He dramatically revealed last night that the video included footage featured a soldier he served with in the army, who has since died.
Speaking to Newsnight, the former security minister said: ‘What’s particularly upsetting is that video is using a piece of footage of some of the people I served with, one of whom died shortly after that film was taken in an accident.’
He said that the soldier was ‘not able to defend himself from the accusation which is effectively being levelled against him’.
Mr Jenrick was using the clip to underscore his argument that the UK must leave the European Court of Human Rights.
In the video Mr Jenrick said: ‘Our special forces are killing, rather than capturing terrorists because our lawyers tell us if they are caught the European Court will set them free.’
Next week, Tory MPs will whittle the field down to two before Conservative activists make their final choice, with the result due to be announced on November 2.
A YouGov survey yesterday suggested that the commanding lead enjoyed by Ms Badenoch among Tory activists has tightened dramatically.
The poll for Sky News found that the former business secretary is now just four points ahead of Mr Jenrick, down from 18 points in July.