Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat says Conservatives can win again

Last month, voters across the United Kingdom answered the question: “who do you trust?” with a simple answer: “not you”.

We all know why. We let people down. While we should be proud of much of what we accomplished, we lost our way.

That doesn’t mean turning our back on everything we achieved. Despite Covid and the War in Ukraine, this year our economy grew the joint fastest of any G7 country. Our vaccine programme was the best in the world. Universal Credit and our education reforms improved millions of people’s lives.

But our achievements were hidden by in-fighting. We promised to help people start their own lives and shape their own futures – some of our actions failed to match those pledges.

We promised lower immigration. It went up.

We promised lower taxes. They went up.

We need to deliver on our promises if we are going to be trusted again.

That’s hard to do in opposition, but we can start by sorting ourselves out.

Too often we forgot who we were in politics for.

As Conservatives, we’re not here to serve the party, or to play political games and divide ourselves into factions.

We’re here to unite under a conservative agenda and serve you.

We need to remember whose side we’re on.

We’re on the side of everyone who believes in hard work and supporting their family and community.

We’re on the side of all those who believe in law and order and being safe in our country.

We’re on the side of the British people and all those who stand with us against the evil we see in the world today.

I have never forgotten that. That’s why I’m standing to lead the Conservative Party today.

Almost 25 years ago I promised to serve our country. It is a promise I have never forgotten.

In uniform, I served alongside some of the most impressive men and women as a soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Parliament, I refused to back down to threats from China, Russia and Iran. The tougher policies we have on Beijing’s attempts to steal from us, Moscow’s to corrupt us, and Iran’s to undermine us have got me sanctioned by all three, but they have made Britain safer.

In government, I worked to build into law the protections we need. The new National Security Act gives our intelligence agencies and police the toughest powers they need to protect us. They’re already using them.

I promised to serve our country, and if I say something, I’ll do it.

That’s what people expect from the Conservative Party, and why so many weren’t just disappointed, but angry. Now we have a chance to rebuild.

We need to restart based on conservative values – remembering who we work for.

I voted against vaccine passports because I don’t think the state should control your travel. I didn’t support the National Insurance tax rise because I think you should be able to control your own money and your life.

That’s the conservative agenda we need to deliver and it’s the agenda that Labour are already undermining.

Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer weren’t straight with you. One month in and they’ve ruthlessly raided pensions and taken away the winter fuel allowance from 10 million people. They’ve made it clear they’re planning to put taxes up in October. But they’re not going to deliver better public services, they’re going to pay off their union bosses and cause inflation to rise.

Higher pay without increases in productivity will mean patients suffer. But Labour are focussed on the unions, not you.

We need real investment to make that work.

We need it in hospitals, like the new clinic I got for our community in Kent. We need it in technology to help keep delivering the cancer cures we all want. And we need it in transport and energy to keep the costs down and the lights on. But Labour is scrapping the plans to build more hospitals, to put Britain ahead in artificial intelligence, and to deliver the energy security we need. That’s going to cost us all.

We can’t compete with China on cost – that’s a race to the bottom. We can’t compete with India on scale – that’s never going to work. But we can compete with the whole world in ideas and technology, if we invest in our future.

Britain can’t afford Labour. They won’t control our borders, they won’t stand up to criminals and they won’t invest in our future. Instead they’re creeping into every other corner of our lives, telling us who to hire, what to think and how to teach our kids. They’re putting ideology over the interests of the British people.

As leader of the opposition I’ll hold Labour to account for their broken promises and get Conservative candidates, chosen by local members, in place early enough to represent you, your town, and your community, and be ready to win.

And I’ll get us ready so that from my first day as Prime Minister we will be ready for the conservative revolution that will put power back into your hands and make sure we deliver the safer, richer Britain we all need.

Together, we can unite, rebuild and win.

Tom Tugendhat is shadow security minister and a candidate to be Conservative leader