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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Toby Helm and Michael Savage

Confused and conflicted: Tory party’s future hangs in the balance after divided conference

James Cleverly gesturing as he gives a speech at the party conference
James Cleverly won support for his suggestion that the party needed to be more ‘normal’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Rather than feeling the pain of loss, many of those who attended the Conservative party conference in Birmingham last week said they felt another overriding emotion in the aftermath of July’s cataclysmic general election defeat: one of overwhelming relief.

“To be honest it feels like a weight off my shoulders,” said a senior MP who narrowly retained his seat. “We knew for two years we were going to lose, so it wasn’t exactly a shock. Now I don’t have to spend all my time answering emails from constituents complaining about all the dreadful mistakes we were making in government.”

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