Brendan Clarke-Smith was Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw between 2019 and 2024 and served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party suffered an historic defeat at the election. We are very much still licking our wounds. As we assess what caused our Party, the most successful in the world, to suffer a crushing defeat, we need to listen to voters.
As I found out to my peril on the doorsteps in Bassetlaw, voters of all stripes had tuned out of politics. Voters simply stayed at home as they saw Conservative in-fighting and a lack of delivery and vision. Having reflected hard since that bruising date in July, I now see how important it is we all come together and unite.
Alongside the division, many of our members are simply fed up, demoralised, and detached from MPs in Westminster. Whether this has been not having their say on the leadership, candidate selections, or simply the values the party represents, we must make a conscious effort to make them feel loved again.
They are the ones who deliver the leaflets, knock on the doors and put their hands in their pockets to keep us going. We need somebody who they respect, is prepared to fight for them and who gives our grassroots the recognition they deserve.
For these reasons, I firmly believe Priti Patel is the best person to bring our Party together and reinvigorate our heroic members and activists for the tough fight ahead. She understands that the Conservatives are first and foremost a grassroots organisation. She is a true champion of our members and activists who get out day in and day-out to champion our causes and values. I know she has plans to re-energise our Party base and reward the army of unsung heroes who play a critical role in our movement.
This is essential. To earn back the trust of voters next time we go to the polls, our brilliant and hardworking members will need to go street by street and door by door and have conversations with people we need to get out and vote Conservative. They will need to rally around a leader who knows how Opposition works, as well as the strong leadership to deliver authentic conservative values.
Likewise, Patel is prepared to stick her neck out and have difficult conversations without being controversial for the sake of it. She is about action, not soundbites. Instead, she focuses on being an outstanding MP for her constituents in Essex and serving the people of this great country.
We saw this last week with her leading calls for the return of Parliament in response to the terrible violence and disorder we witnessed on our streets. We saw this when she was Home Secretary where she introduced essential reforms to allow for a points-based immigration system, restored the police force, introduced groundbreaking legislation to protect women and girls, deported over 12,000 foreign offenders, and introduced the Rwanda scheme as a much-needed deterrent.
She is also the only candidate who has been here before. She worked in William Hague’s team after our crushing loss in 1997 and knows exactly what it takes to get back into office. Opposition is a very different task than Government, and I am confident she has the experience and conviction to hold Labour to account as they unveil their terrifying big-state socialist agenda.
Margaret Thatcher was successful not because she surrounded herself with people who agreed with everything she said, but because she realised that she needed broad support from across the Party. You need the respect of your colleagues to do this and Priti has it. She served with distinction in the Cabinet, then continued to be a supportive voice from the backbenches. Priti cares about our country and cares about our Party. She doesn’t just say it – she’s demonstrated it time and time again.
Patel has proven herself time and time again a great public servant who puts the interests of her constituents in Essex and the nation first. She can unite our party, get the grassroots motivated, hold Labour’s terrifying plans to account and get us back into government.
Brendan Clarke-Smith was Member of Parliament for Bassetlaw between 2019 and 2024 and served as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party suffered an historic defeat at the election. We are very much still licking our wounds. As we assess what caused our Party, the most successful in the world, to suffer a crushing defeat, we need to listen to voters.
As I found out to my peril on the doorsteps in Bassetlaw, voters of all stripes had tuned out of politics. Voters simply stayed at home as they saw Conservative in-fighting and a lack of delivery and vision. Having reflected hard since that bruising date in July, I now see how important it is we all come together and unite.
Alongside the division, many of our members are simply fed up, demoralised, and detached from MPs in Westminster. Whether this has been not having their say on the leadership, candidate selections, or simply the values the party represents, we must make a conscious effort to make them feel loved again.
They are the ones who deliver the leaflets, knock on the doors and put their hands in their pockets to keep us going. We need somebody who they respect, is prepared to fight for them and who gives our grassroots the recognition they deserve.
For these reasons, I firmly believe Priti Patel is the best person to bring our Party together and reinvigorate our heroic members and activists for the tough fight ahead. She understands that the Conservatives are first and foremost a grassroots organisation. She is a true champion of our members and activists who get out day in and day-out to champion our causes and values. I know she has plans to re-energise our Party base and reward the army of unsung heroes who play a critical role in our movement.
This is essential. To earn back the trust of voters next time we go to the polls, our brilliant and hardworking members will need to go street by street and door by door and have conversations with people we need to get out and vote Conservative. They will need to rally around a leader who knows how Opposition works, as well as the strong leadership to deliver authentic conservative values.
Likewise, Patel is prepared to stick her neck out and have difficult conversations without being controversial for the sake of it. She is about action, not soundbites. Instead, she focuses on being an outstanding MP for her constituents in Essex and serving the people of this great country.
We saw this last week with her leading calls for the return of Parliament in response to the terrible violence and disorder we witnessed on our streets. We saw this when she was Home Secretary where she introduced essential reforms to allow for a points-based immigration system, restored the police force, introduced groundbreaking legislation to protect women and girls, deported over 12,000 foreign offenders, and introduced the Rwanda scheme as a much-needed deterrent.
She is also the only candidate who has been here before. She worked in William Hague’s team after our crushing loss in 1997 and knows exactly what it takes to get back into office. Opposition is a very different task than Government, and I am confident she has the experience and conviction to hold Labour to account as they unveil their terrifying big-state socialist agenda.
Margaret Thatcher was successful not because she surrounded herself with people who agreed with everything she said, but because she realised that she needed broad support from across the Party. You need the respect of your colleagues to do this and Priti has it. She served with distinction in the Cabinet, then continued to be a supportive voice from the backbenches. Priti cares about our country and cares about our Party. She doesn’t just say it – she’s demonstrated it time and time again.
Patel has proven herself time and time again a great public servant who puts the interests of her constituents in Essex and the nation first. She can unite our party, get the grassroots motivated, hold Labour’s terrifying plans to account and get us back into government.