Is James Cleverly the 'safe pair of hands' the Tories need?
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Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are the current frontrunners to become the next Conservative leader, but could things swing in favour of a more moderate contender, James Cleverly?
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In Brief…
Read time: 4 mins
- James Cleverly told Emily Maitlis at the Tory Party conference he believes he will rise from third place to win the Tory leadership contest.
- Jon Sopel believes he is a “safe pair of hands” and can appeal to both party members and the country at large.
- Frontrunners Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are considered more right-wing and more polarising choices to become leader.
What’s the story?
"I'm going to win it."
Those are some serious fighting words from James Cleverly on his chances in the current Tory leadership race – especially for someone who's consistently placed third in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak.
But as frontrunners Robert Jenrick sets out an increasingly right-wing vision for the future of the Tories and Kemi Badenoch "hits out at everyone", could Cleverly be the safe pair of hands the Conservatives need to rebuild following their crushing defeat in this year's General Election?
What's the latest in the Tory leadership race?
Lewis Goodall describes Jenrick and Badenoch as "a man who will say anything and a woman who will do anything."
There have been questions over Jenrick's shift from a more centrist view to a hardline right-wing stance, with a suggestion having been made that he adopted his current position due to having "half his eye on the Tory leadership race" before it began, rather than a firm belief in what he says.
He is focusing his leadership campaign on migrant people coming into the UK, and is pushing hard for the country to exit the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to bring immigration numbers down.
Meanwhile, Badenoch had a tricky time at the Tory conference due to her comment that maternity pay in the UK had gone "too far", and that it was "taking from one group of people and giving to another," which she described as excessive.
She later claimed she had been misrepresented and had been speaking about business regulations.
Tom Tugendhat spoke on Monday at the Tory party conference about his support for Israel, rejected the term "climate emergency" and praised Boris Johnson.
When Emily Maitlis caught up with Cleverly, he was in high spirits about his chances in the leadership race and the future of the Tory party.
James Cleverly is confident he'll win the Tory leadership race
What do Cleverly's politics look like?
At the conference, Cleverly said the next Tory leader needed to hit the ground running "from day one" and that there could be no learning on the job for whoever succeeds.
He has also focused his campaign on migration, and promised to revive the former Tory government's Rwanda plan if he becomes Prime Minister.
He has supported Israel during its escalating war in the Middle East, including its recent military incursion into Lebanon.
He has also said he wants to take Britain "back to that Thatcherite era", with financial incentives for entrepreneurs and 'wealth creators' in the UK.
What's The News Agents take?
While Cleverly thinks he's going to win the Tory leadership contest, The News Agents believe he may reach the final two, and face a possible showdown with Robert Jenrick.
"He is the safe pair of hands," says Jon Sopel.
"He may not have the intellectual spark of Badenoch, or the ruthless ambition of Jenrick, but, you know, he came across pretty well when he was Foreign Secretary.”
Lewis Goodall says a final showdown between Cleverly and Jenrick could get fiery, and says what Cleverly is pitching is "very different" to the message Jenrick is pushing of quitting the ECHR as a swift solution to migration in the UK.
"I think this is the cleavage we'll see if it ends up being Cleverly versus Jenrick, which is to say – 'this guy's lying to you," Lewis says.
"This guy is actually giving you easy solutions that he knows won't work on things like legal migration caps signed off by parliament, on leaving the ECHR and so on – and position himself as the grown-up."
Lewis also believes Cleverly is the only leadership candidate to fully address why the Tories lost the 2024 general election, and is speaking openly about its past mistakes.
Cleverly the only candidate reliably grappling with the political/strategic mistakes of last government, rather than staying in party’s comfort zone (blaming a largely imagined lack of true conservatism). https://t.co/fsbZQdG5oR
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) October 1, 2024
Jon describes him as a well liked MP within the Tory party, and says this may be what the party needs, instead of a more hard-line leader.
"He is a popular figure in the Conservative Party in terms of balancing the two things that you need," Jon says.
"One is to appeal to the base, and then one is to appeal to the country.
"I would have thought that actually, Cleverly, is the best placed person to do that."
But the problem Cleverly faces, like some of the other leadership contenders, is having been an integral part of the previous Tory government, and the poor reputation it found itself with when its 14 years in power came to an end.
"He thinks he's going to do it," says Emily.
"I think what's wrong with this analysis is that he is so known – I mean – he's done all the big jobs already, and he's part of the administration that got them the worst results.
This, Lewis agrees, is a "weakness for all of them".
Listen in full on The News Agents.
