Mel Stride
From: Mel Stride 7th October 5:33pm

Why I'm backing James Cleverly for Party Leader

Mel Stride, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary and previously a candidate in the leadership election, backs James Cleverly for Party leader today in The Telegraph. He wrote the below to explain why he believes the Shadow Home Secretary is the best candidate to win back the voters we lost at the election.

The Conservative Party has been the most successful electoral machine in the world. We have formed the government more than any other party and we have always enjoyed a reputation for competence – particularly when it comes to the economy.

But, after the events of the last few years, that reputation has been severely damaged. Our party has sadly become synonymous with infighting and scandal, and at the general election the public sent a clear message that they were sick of what they perceived as the “Tory Psychodrama”.

And we have paid a price. It is nothing short of appalling that we don’t have a single seat in Wales, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire or Oxfordshire. And with local elections in around six months’ time we really don’t have a second to waste. We have to get our act together right now.

When I speak to our members, as I did at conference last week, it is clear that they have felt ignored or abandoned by an over-centralised party machine. All of our MPs saw during the election campaign that it was increasingly difficult to get our activists and campaigners out. Weakness on the ground means millions of people missing out on effective local Conservative leadership. We need people to be proud to sell our Conservative vision in their local communities.

For this to happen, we need a leader who both gets the need for the rapid reform of our party machine but who can also reach across the party and appeal to our broad base. Someone who has experience in government, the party, and is an effective communicator. On this latter point, as someone who has been rolled out in front of the media more than most, I know that the ability to stand up to intense scrutiny is vital for any leader.

I have come to the conclusion that the person that meets all these requirements is James Cleverly. I have sat around the Cabinet table with James and have seen him make the best of a succession of high-profile roles – party chairman, foreign secretary and home secretary. I watched his performance at Conservative Party conference last week and he was undoubtedly the standout candidate. That was clear in the media reaction afterwards; James won conference.

He was also absolutely right in what he said. We need to be the very best version of ourselves if we are to get back to winning ways. Strong, clear and measured. That is how we will win back voters that we lost to Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform. It is also how we will encourage those that stayed at home to come out and vote for us again at the next opportunity.

James is a team player and I know that he will bring people with him in a joint and inclusive effort. I want to see us involve our members, councillors, MPs and volunteers to get the party machine battle-ready. That must involve uniting around Conservative values: a smaller, more efficient state (though with higher defence spending), lower taxes and getting people back into work. Creating a clear economic plan that delivers growth and increased productivity so that this can be delivered in a fiscally responsible way.

James has been consistent in his Conservative values and is the person who will build the strong team that can make the case for Conservatism amongst those groups that we lost at the general election – including younger voters.

With local elections around the corner, we must pick a leader who can hit the ground running, take the fight to Labour and make sure that we are ready to win as soon as the opportunity presents itself.