Robert Jenrick is one of the final two leadership contenders and MP for Newark
We’re just over one hundred days since our worst election defeat in modern history.
And already we can see the price the country has paid.
Labour has poured billions of pounds into the coffers of its union paymasters, while taking from millions of pensioners on as little as £13,000-a-year. Train drivers on £60,000-a-year given another £10,000, and the deal didn’t even stop them from striking.The small boats are still crossing the Channel, but now with no chance of a deterrent to stop them in the years ahead.
Our brilliant schools, reformed by our Conservative government, are under attack from Labour’s plans with their new curriculum.
Our ally, Israel, fighting a war for survival, sold down the river by Sir Keir Starmer and our Foreign Secretary David Lammy. And our strategically important island territory in the Indian Ocean, handed over to Mauritius, an ally of China, for which we are paying them for the privilege.
We should know by now how we got here. I certainly do.
Quite simply, for all the good we did in our years in power, we did not deliver on some of the big challenges facing our country.
Let me be clear, I will fiercely defend everything we got right in government – whether that’s restoring our public finances after the crash, on education reform, getting Brexit done and helping to defend our Ukrainian allies.
But while we knew deep down what we had to do on other big challenges, we didn’t have the leadership and the unity to put those plans into action.
It’s why we did not solve the small boats crisis. It’s why we did not grow the economy to improve the lives of our people. And it’s why we let the bloated NHS fail to provide vital care for those in need.
But we should be optimistic. Because I know we have the answers to the problems our great country faces. I’ve thought long and hard about the reasons why we lost so badly in the General Election.
And I have developed a clear plan to put to our members on those big issues – on migration, the economy and NHS – so that we can regain voters’ trust and end this already-failing Labour government after just one term.
We owe that to the country.
We can’t spend the next few years with more infighting and drama as we battle between each other to come up with those solutions.
It will mean bringing all the parts of our party together. From the ERG to the TRG, from Tom Tugendhat to Mark Francois, we share far more in common than we differ.
We all want a strong border, NHS, and economy, as well as lower migration, and greater opportunity for people in this country with a small state that works, not a big one that fails – those principles are not in doubt.
What we now need are the answers, so the public can see that we get it, that we’ve changed. With Nigel Farage’s Reform party waiting to capitalise on our mistakes and any hesitancy, we can’t afford anything else.
It’s why, if I’m elected leader, we will unite around those serious policy solutions and take the fight to Starmer’s pathetic Labour Government.
We must come together, as one.
That doesn’t mean we won’t have discussions and new policy development as a team. Ours will be a collegiate opposition. But it does mean that, with our principles and big policy directions set for the future, we can present a united Conservative Party to the country.
We will be a party of the common ground, rooted in the issues and concerns that affect millions of our fellow citizens.
And if we are to get back into Government so we can help our country then we’ll need all our best players on the pitch. A unity cabinet – with all the big hitters from right across the party in our top team.
I would also want our best players outside of Parliament fighting for us, too.
That’s why I’d appoint Jacob Rees Mogg Conservative Party chairman, tasked with putting the party back in the service of its members.
And why as soon as possible we would bring back great campaigners like Penny Mordaunt to the frontline of Conservative politics, either via a by-election if she was willing, or in leading a campaign against Labour. Penny is a Conservative star who, like many good colleagues, was unseated at the last election through no fault of her own.
She must have a place at the heart of our party in the years ahead – taking the fight to Labour.
Not to mention, we’ve got to get Boris fighting for us as well, along with those who have served us as brilliant metro mayors.
If I become our leader, I will ask all these great Conservatives to play a big role in defeating Labour in the years to come.
We will unite our party around the serious answers to the big challenges we face. We’ll be a party that’s strong on the NHS, economy and migration — just as the British people want us to be.
And we’ll get back into Government, so we can serve our great country once more.
Robert Jenrick is one of the final two leadership contenders and MP for Newark
We’re just over one hundred days since our worst election defeat in modern history.
And already we can see the price the country has paid.
Labour has poured billions of pounds into the coffers of its union paymasters, while taking from millions of pensioners on as little as £13,000-a-year. Train drivers on £60,000-a-year given another £10,000, and the deal didn’t even stop them from striking.The small boats are still crossing the Channel, but now with no chance of a deterrent to stop them in the years ahead.
Our brilliant schools, reformed by our Conservative government, are under attack from Labour’s plans with their new curriculum.
Our ally, Israel, fighting a war for survival, sold down the river by Sir Keir Starmer and our Foreign Secretary David Lammy. And our strategically important island territory in the Indian Ocean, handed over to Mauritius, an ally of China, for which we are paying them for the privilege.
We should know by now how we got here. I certainly do.
Quite simply, for all the good we did in our years in power, we did not deliver on some of the big challenges facing our country.
Let me be clear, I will fiercely defend everything we got right in government – whether that’s restoring our public finances after the crash, on education reform, getting Brexit done and helping to defend our Ukrainian allies.
But while we knew deep down what we had to do on other big challenges, we didn’t have the leadership and the unity to put those plans into action.
It’s why we did not solve the small boats crisis. It’s why we did not grow the economy to improve the lives of our people. And it’s why we let the bloated NHS fail to provide vital care for those in need.
But we should be optimistic. Because I know we have the answers to the problems our great country faces. I’ve thought long and hard about the reasons why we lost so badly in the General Election.
And I have developed a clear plan to put to our members on those big issues – on migration, the economy and NHS – so that we can regain voters’ trust and end this already-failing Labour government after just one term.
We owe that to the country.
We can’t spend the next few years with more infighting and drama as we battle between each other to come up with those solutions.
It will mean bringing all the parts of our party together. From the ERG to the TRG, from Tom Tugendhat to Mark Francois, we share far more in common than we differ.
We all want a strong border, NHS, and economy, as well as lower migration, and greater opportunity for people in this country with a small state that works, not a big one that fails – those principles are not in doubt.
What we now need are the answers, so the public can see that we get it, that we’ve changed. With Nigel Farage’s Reform party waiting to capitalise on our mistakes and any hesitancy, we can’t afford anything else.
It’s why, if I’m elected leader, we will unite around those serious policy solutions and take the fight to Starmer’s pathetic Labour Government.
We must come together, as one.
That doesn’t mean we won’t have discussions and new policy development as a team. Ours will be a collegiate opposition. But it does mean that, with our principles and big policy directions set for the future, we can present a united Conservative Party to the country.
We will be a party of the common ground, rooted in the issues and concerns that affect millions of our fellow citizens.
And if we are to get back into Government so we can help our country then we’ll need all our best players on the pitch. A unity cabinet – with all the big hitters from right across the party in our top team.
I would also want our best players outside of Parliament fighting for us, too.
That’s why I’d appoint Jacob Rees Mogg Conservative Party chairman, tasked with putting the party back in the service of its members.
And why as soon as possible we would bring back great campaigners like Penny Mordaunt to the frontline of Conservative politics, either via a by-election if she was willing, or in leading a campaign against Labour. Penny is a Conservative star who, like many good colleagues, was unseated at the last election through no fault of her own.
She must have a place at the heart of our party in the years ahead – taking the fight to Labour.
Not to mention, we’ve got to get Boris fighting for us as well, along with those who have served us as brilliant metro mayors.
If I become our leader, I will ask all these great Conservatives to play a big role in defeating Labour in the years to come.
We will unite our party around the serious answers to the big challenges we face. We’ll be a party that’s strong on the NHS, economy and migration — just as the British people want us to be.
And we’ll get back into Government, so we can serve our great country once more.