Tugendhat: Throws Hat in The Ring.

The Bespectacled former security minister Tom Tugendhat has officially joined the race to replace Mr. Sunak. Mr. Tugendhat formerly ran in 2022 but fell short of the leadership position. Mr. Tugendhat despite not winning was given a cabinet position.

Mr. Tugendhat has a military background so he was chosen to be security minister. Mr. Tugendhat is a hawk when it comes to enemy nations like Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea.

Mr. Tugendhat is the second Tory MP to announce his candidacy. The first name to put himself forward is shadow home secretary James Cleverly. The other names in the game are Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, Kemi Badenoch, and Robert Jenrick. All are thought to be filling in the form to announce their candidacy.

The Tory leadership contest will be in November. The membership will decide who will be the next leader. Sunak will step down when that leader is announced. Meanwhile, Sunak will be the leader until November.

Tom Tugendhat according to polls is the clear favourite among the membership. Tugendhat has spoken about why he thinks the Tories lost. The Tonbridge MP seemed to think it was because the Tories did not deliver what they promised. Mr. Tugendhat said, "Clever people have already written a million complicated words about why we lost the election, but I can do it in one word: trust".

Tugendhat continued: "We lost the trust of the British people because we didn't do what we said we would". The Tories had broken their promises to "lower taxes, lower immigration, more control over their everyday lives. The last government did not deliver". Tugendhat makes valid points, however, there are more things to it. Cutbacks, cruelty, corruption, and ignorance of ordinary people's lives. 14 wasted years of the above that is why people voted with their feet. To remove this rotten edifice called a government. Labour now have a massive task in the next 5 years. Just as they had an uphill battle to be electable again, now they will have another mountain to climb. To put right what the Tories did wrong and to deliver for the people on energy bills, the cost of living, cutting immigration, etc.

Mr. Tugendhat also referenced other reasons why the last Tory administration lost. "We know what a woman is and we all want lower taxes. Mr. Tugendhat mentioned the importance of national security and people feeling safe in their communities. Household bills must also be a concern he went on.

Mr. Tugendhat may become the next leader if the membership does vote for him. However, it does not matter if Tugendhat, Cleverly, Patel, Braverman, or Jenrick are the leaders. The Tories are reduced to 121 MPs. The mess the Tories are in now is the mess they have done. No one else is to blame, not the British public, not other parties, not home or world events, them and them alone. The Tories over 14 years became drunk on power and lived in a Westminister bubble of fantasy. That fantasy has now ended and in the cold hard light of day, they are in opposition. They have 5 years to pull themselves back from the abyss, how they do that is up to them.

Coming back from the abyss for the Tories is doable. However, unlike Labour in 2019, the Tories are up against it. The Lib Dems with 72 MPs or so, are breathing down their necks thanks to the antics of Ed Davey their leader. Reform with 5 MPs may not seem much of a threat, however, in 5 years Reform will attract Tory voters and MPs alike. I mentioned earlier in a critique of Tugendhat's ideas why the Tories lost. People, especially, those who suffered most under Tory policies, will have long memories. This should be enough to keep the Conservatives in the political wilderness, for years and years to come.

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