James Cleverly warns Tories to avoid one thing to win over voters
Rishi Sunak's replacement will be announced on November 2.
Conservatives need to tackle the perception they are “angry” or “negative”, Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has said.
The former Home Secretary said Conservatives needed to change the way they are perceived in order to win over new voters.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Political Thinking podcast: “I want to break this artificial perception that being conservative means you are angry or negative or moany or grumpy.
“Because it just turns people off. It is running contrary to the mood of a lot of people that we need to win over, particularly younger voters.”
Mr Cleverly is one of four candidates hoping to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Tory Party in November.
He claimed he had “outperformed” all of his Tory leadership rivals “by a country mile” during his time in Westminster.
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Mr Cleverly suggested that his three challengers for the top job - Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat - could not match his political CV in terms of experience and achievements.
He believed he had been “underestimated” throughout his political career because he does not parade his accomplishments “like peacock feathers” like some of his colleagues.
Meanwhile Mr Jenrick said there is a “long road” still to travel in the Tory leadership contest as he resisted the idea that he already had victory in the bag.
He finished in the top spot in the first two rounds of voting by Tory MPs. He secured the support of 33 MPs in the second round, five ahead of Kemi Badenoch on 28.
Asked if he had already won the contest, Mr Jenrick told Chopper’s Political Podcast, published by GB News: “It is a long road, as you know, but I am absolutely delighted to have won so much support from parliamentary colleagues across the party, all wings of the parliamentary Conservative Party.
“And I think the message is resonating with MPs and above all with the members and the general public that the Conservative Party needs to change.”
He also warned the Conservative Party cannot continue “making and breaking promises” if it wants to win back disillusioned voters.
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Mr Jenrick confirmed he would lift the ban on opening new grammar schools if he becomes Tory leader and wins the next general election.
Dame Priti Patel and Mel Stride were previously eliminated from the leadership race after getting the lowest number of votes from MPs.
The final four will address Tory members at the party’s conference at the end of September.
Each of them will make speeches and give interviews, with the four put through their paces repeatedly in front of party activists.
On the final day of conference, each candidate will give a speech in a repeat of the format that saw David Cameron emerge as the frontrunner to be the next Tory leader in 2005.
It will be a vital opportunity to woo the party’s 121 MPs and convince them they can restore their electoral fortunes from opposition.
An intensive round of hustings and multiple votes will follow the conference from October 8, lasting three days, until only two candidates are left.
Conservative Party members will then choose which of the final two candidates they want as the new leader, with the result announced on 2 November.
