Former Tory MPs defeated in Labour’s landslide election win are calling for a formal role in the election postmortem, amid fears that their party risks a lurch to the right without a thorough examination of the defeat.
Many former Conservative MPs who lost their seats by tight margins are already considering trying to make a swift return at the next opportunity.
At a gathering held last week at London’s Carlton Club for those who lost, several senior Tory figures are understood to have expressed the desire to fight again, rather than walk away. There are hopes among Tories that figures such as former cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt will attempt a comeback.
However, there was also talk during the gathering that those who campaigned hard in close seats should be formally included in any assessment of what led to the heavy loss.
In a warning to the party about the need for a thorough inquiry, Tobias Ellwood, the former minister who lost his Bournemouth East seat by about 5,000 votes, said that the election failure should be the party’s “teacher – not undertaker”. He called for ex-MPs to be included as the party digests the result and searches for a new leader.
Writing for the Observer online, he said that at the moment “no one is listening to us”, and urged the party to use the next few months to form a considered assessment of the historic defeat.
“A gathering at the Carlton Club last Wednesday illuminated a rare post-election opportunity that should not be ignored,” he said. “Far from being a wake, there was a clear sense of resolve that many of us were not done. Bruised, yes – but energised to fight another day. Churchill would have approved – given that he lost his seat on more than one occasion.
“This wealth of parliamentary and ministerial expertise, respected constituency experience, coupled with a collective appetite to fight again must be harnessed to the full.”
Richard Graham, the former MP for Gloucester who lost by less than 4,000 votes, put the blame squarely on voter fatigue over Tory infighting. “Anyone who has lost their seat is likely to be frustrated,” he said. “But this electionresult stemmed from a widespread perception of poor behaviour and infighting. We now have to re-earn trust by making sure that the focus of the entire party is simply on voters’ concerns – and there are plenty of them.”
The party is still split over its next steps, the reasons behind the loss and finding a new leader to replace Rishi Sunak. Allies of Sunak appear confident that the former prime minister is willing to stay on as leader if his replacement is decided by the Tory conference in the autumn, and either announced during the conference or immediately afterwards.
However, there has so far been a wide variety of opinion over how the party should approach the search for a new leader. Some Tory MPs are even said to have pushed for an election postmortem that would mean a new leader wouldn’t be in place until next year. The key decisions on the process will finally come to light this week after fresh discussions between the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs and the party’s board.
Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister and MP for Tonbridge, has already emerged as the most likely figure to become the candidate from the one nation wing of the party. He has been boosted by the support of Steve Baker, the the influential former MP, minister and Brexit advocate who is regarded as a key organiser
Baker wrote a joint article with Damian Green, a leading one nation Tory, endorsing Tugendhat. While the number of Tory seats has plummeted since the election, figures from the liberal wing and the right remain, meaning Tugendhat would have to win support from across the party if he is to make a serious challenge.
Baker said he was endorsing Tugendhat because he was “the only one of the leadership contenders to vote against vaccine passports and to not support the [national insurance] rise” implemented by Sunak as chancellor.
Kemi Badenoch, the shadow housing secretary, remains the early frontrunner to replace Sunak, but all the candidates are holding fire on announcing their campaigns until the selection process is formalised.
