Tory leadership frontrunners Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are scoring “own goals” hitting their campaigns to succeed Rishi Sunak, according to a senior parliamentarian.
Leading Conservative pollster Lord Hayward stressed their campaigns were “stuttering” at the party’s annual rally in Birmingham which was leaving the leadership contest wide open with James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat able to build momentum.
The peer said: “Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly aren’t scoring any spectacular goals but Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are scoring own goals.”
He explained further: “Robert is now facing flak over his comments on the SAS while being unable to get out from the row over a tax haven donation.
“While Kemi is still failing to move on from the controversy over maternity allowance.
“So Tom and James are avoiding problems themselves and the contest is wide open as the two apparent frontrunners stutter.”
Lord Hayward believes Mr Cleverly and Mr Tugendhat had already won Day One on Sunday of the conference, and this trend had continued into Day Two on Monday.
Mr Jenrick, who has positioned himself as the candidate most on the Right of the party, doubled down on his widely criticised claim that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists” because they believed otherwise they would be freed by European judges.
But he faced heavy criticism from former soldier Mr Tugendhat, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and from Mr Cleverly, an officer in the Territorial Army for almost 20 years.
Ms Badenoch sparked a row on Sunday by describing maternity pay as “a function of tax”, and adding: “Tax comes from people who are working, we’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.”
Later, she stressed that “of course I believe in maternity pay”.
Mr Jenrick and Mr Cleverly were on Tuesday - Day Three of the conference - due to lay out their vision for the party on the main stage of the annual conference, and face a grilling from party members.
Ms Badenoch and Mr Tugendhat took to the stage for such a hustings on Monday.
The four candidates are due to deliver keynote speeches to the party faithful on Wednesday.
Many MPs, and party members, are still undecided over who to support, as they try to weigh up the respective leadership, communication, policy, and vision qualities of each contender.
MPs will vote in less than ten days’ time to reduce the number of candidates to three and then to a shortlist of two.
Party members will then make the final decision over who should take over as leader, with an announcement on this due on November 2.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss also made an appearance at the conference on Monday.
But Lord Hayward said: “Last year she was followed by hordes. This year hardly anyone even noticed she had been in Birmingham.”
