Two so-called ‘right-wingers’ facing off to be Tory leader is the best thing that could happen for Britain – here’s why
THE Tory Party leadership contest is the gift that keeps on giving.
The result of the final ballot of Conservative MPs shocked Westminster on Wednesday when the most recent front-runner, James Cleverly, was knocked out, leaving Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick to slug it out in the party members’ vote over the next few weeks.
But while the final tally of votes may have come as a surprise to many — not least the three candidates themselves — the reaction to the news was as predictable as ever.
The usual suspects trotted out their tired old analysis about the Tories rejecting the last standing “centrist” candidate and selecting instead “two right wing headbangers” who didn’t stand a chance of ever winning power because EVERYONE knows that British General Elections are won in the centre ground.
Rainbow colours
“One Nation” Tories were left weeping into their drinks in the Commons bar, while Labour MPs cackled with joy.
One even joked that the final Tory twosome were such a boon to Labour that the PM would have to declare the result as a gift on the MPs’ register (assuming there’s any room left, what with all his free designer clobber and tickets).
The only problem with this received wisdom is that it’s a load of complete and utter cobblers. And I’ll tell you why.
The very same people writing off the Tories today are the same ones who wrote off the Labour Party after their worst ever defeat, under Jeremy Corbyn, in 2019.
And they’re the same ones who insisted that, at long last, “the grown-ups” were back in charge when Rishi Sunak took over from Liz Truss — and again when Keir Starmer strode into Downing Street.
How’s that working out, eh?
But the REAL reason that all these oh-so-clever pundits and Tory grandees have got it so terribly wrong when they insist the Conservatives cannot win an election with a “right winger” as leader is because they are completely out of touch with what British voters actually think.
The truth is that the feted centre ground of British politics isn’t anywhere near the centre any more.
It’s been shunted left and is now far closer to Tony Blair’s dream of a bigger public sector, higher taxes, unlimited immigration, more nanny state interference in people’s lives and celebrating multi- culturalism and diversity in all its rainbow colours over long-standing British values.
David Cameron, the true heir to Blair, then jumped on the climate change hysteria and dragged his party so far to the Left that many Tory MPs could easily be mistaken for Lib Dems or Greens.
The only problem with this shift is that they forgot to tell the voters, who have stayed exactly where they always were — in the REAL centre ground.
So now we’re in the bizarre state of affairs where we’re told that it’s only mad right wingers — Tories, Reform UK, the “far right” even — who want to cut immigration (both legal and illegal), who want a smaller state and lower taxes, who think criminals should be locked up, who want British values and history promoted in our schools, who don’t want their children indoctrinated by the likes of Stonewall, Greta Thunberg and Black Lives Matter.
Yet there isn’t anything extreme about ANY of those views! They’re the widely held opinions, not only of most Conservatives but of most of the British people too.
Those ARE the centre ground issues and precisely the sorts of values and policies that any Tory leader should be promoting if they ever want to be back into government.
And that’s where either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick come in.
Regardless of their relative qualities, at least both of the remaining leadership candidates GET IT.
They get that “business as usual” and sitting around waiting for Labour to fail isn’t going to be enough to tempt Tory voters back to the fold.
Culture wars
They both know they need to win people back with a major overhaul of Conservative policies on every issue from immigration and crime, to the NHS and the culture wars, to Net Zero and economic growth.
Badenoch talks about having “big ideas not easy slogans”, and about “rewiring the state” along Conservative principles, while Jenrick speaks of the need to win back voter trust with specific policies on the “common ground” issues like immigration — such as leaving the ECHR to take back control of our borders.
Whoever wins when the result is announced on November 2, the new Tory leader must ignore the so-called centrist critics and offer a genuine alternative for the millions of voters crying out for a party representing the REAL centre ground of British politics.
Keir wrong on newbie rights
THE Government has unveiled new employment reforms to give workers more rights from day one in a new job.
That will include sick pay, a right to ask for flexible hours and to sue for unfair dismissal.
Unsurprisingly, business owners say this will simply mean they hire fewer new staff.
Add to that a rumoured Budget hike to employers’ NI contributions to raise an extra £17billion – LITERALLY a tax on jobs – and we can kiss goodbye to economic growth.
Labour seem to think all bosses are ogres exploiting their workers in their dark satanic mills, despite surveys showing that most employees are perfectly happy in their jobs – including most people on zero-hours contracts.
What happens if a new employee doesn’t work out?
We’ve all had colleagues who looked great on paper but didn’t live up to expectations, haven’t we, Prime Minister?
Luckily for Keir Starmer, the new rules weren’t in place when he hired Sue Gray as his chief of staff.
How convenient.