Mel Stride: May Stand.

Mel Stride, the former Work and Pensions Secretary is saying he may stand for the leadership, of the Tory Party. The backbench 1922 Committee has decided the contest should be on 2nd November. Mr. Sunak will continue as leader of the Conservatives and leader of the Opposition until a new leader has been announced. Speaking to Sky's Kay Burley Mr. Stride said there was a "reasonable chance" he would stand. It was important for the country that we have a strong Conservative Party".

In his bid for the leadership, should he stand, Mr. Stride could be facing:

Kemi Badenoch.

James Cleverly.

Tom Tugendhat.

Suella Braverman.

Prit Patel.

Robert Jenrick.

Meanwhile, Shadow Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt who stood in a previous contest has ruled himself out of standing. Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, and Kemi Badenoch are the darlings and pin-ups of the Conservative right. Jenrick, Cleverly, and Stride are favoured more by the moderate wing.

Rishi Sunak on July 4th, led the Tories to their worst ever defeat. In public, Mr. Sunak seems to be okay with this fact. Of course, what he is like away from the public arena cannot be known. Mr. Sunak may be cool with that fact and quipped "I hadn't intended to be a senior statesman at 44". So by that admission, Mr. Sunak seems to be taking it in his stride (no pun intended!). However, like most of us going through something major, he may be putting on a face.

The process of selecting a candidate to stand in the leadership race is thus: it needs the backing of 10 MPs, a proposer, a seconder and eight nominations to proceed to the ballot. Tory MPs will then narrow down candidates to 4. It is up to them to make their case as to why they should be Tory leader. Their audience will be those gathered at the Conservative Autumn Conference. The winner will be chosen by the Tory Party membership. The leader will be the Leader of the Opposition holding the government to account.

No matter who the leader is the Tories will face 5 years in opposition. 5 years of rebuilding their party and wondering where they went wrong. With 121 MPs the Tories are where the Labour party were in 2019. They have a huge mountain to climb if they are to recover. How they recover and bring themselves back is open to question. After their worst defeat, rebuilding the Conservative Party will be long and arduous. The Labour Party in a similar in 2019 had to rebuild and move back to the centre (some say right) after the loss under Jeremy Corbyn. The difference between the Labour Party then and the Tories now is that Labour had no equivalent to Reform. Reform under Farage is a clear and present danger to the Tories. This puts the Tories on the horns of a dilemma. Nigel Farage is seen as a Prophet of the right. Mr. Farage will have supporters in the Tory right and many Tory MPs may join with Reform. That is where the danger lies for the Conservatives.

Ultimately, how the Conservatives carry themselves forward is dependent on many things. In reconnecting with the public the Tories will face a hard task. 14 years of destruction and deprivation will not be forgotten so easily. The Tories must be prepared for years and years to be out of office. What direction do the Tories go in? Do they lurch to the right to satisfy their own right or ape Reform? Do they go to the left or middle ground? All will become clear under a new leader over the next 5 years.