Conservative leadership hopefuls vow change to win again

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************* leadership hopefuls vow change to win again

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Reuters

The four Tory leadership candidates made speeches in Birmingham

The four ************* leadership hopefuls have set out their visions for reforming the party after its historic defeat in the general election this year.

Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch tried to woo members in speeches to their party’s conference in Birmingham.

Cleverly said the party needed to be “more normal” to win back voters who deserted them for Reform ***.

Tugendhat pledged a “new ************* revolution” that focused on delivering better public services.

Jenrick called for a “new ************* Party” and promised “an effective freeze in net migration”, while Badenoch said she would “reprogramme the British state” based on “renewed ************* principles”.

The Tory leadership contest has dominated the conference as the party seeks to recover from its worst-ever performance at a general election in July.

In a break with tradition, the four candidates closed the conference with their speeches to the party faithful, rather than outgoing ************* leader Rishi Sunak.

After being grilled by delegates and the media for days, the four would-be leaders will be whittled down to two in a vote by Tory MPs next week.

************* members will then pick the new leader from the final two in a final vote, with the result announced on 2 November.

In their speeches, each candidate attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer and said their party could win the next general election under their leadership, but not without changing its direction.

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Tom Tugendhat spoke about his experience in the military

Tugendhat, who was up first on the conference stage, said there had not been enough “substance” in the Tory leadership campaign.

A former security minister, he talked up his experience in the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and how that would make him an effective leader.

He made a direct appeal to voters who abandoned the Tories for Reform, Labour and the ******** Democrats.

The truth was, he said, many who shared ************* values did not vote for them.

He said the Tories needed to “focus on what the British people need and be absolutely ruthless about delivering it, from health care and immigration to security and education”.

“We need a new ************* revolution,” he added. “That’s what Margaret Thatcher did. That’s what we must do again, and we can do it.”

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James Cleverly said his party should copy former US President Ronald Reagan

Cleverly opened his speech by saying “sorry” to ************* activists for the result of the general election, on behalf of Tory MPs.

But in an upbeat speech peppered with jokes, the former home and foreign secretary said he knew from his past life in business what it felt like to fail and get back up again.

He said his political hero was former *********** US President Ronald Reagan and suggested the ************* Party should follow his example.

“Let’s be enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic,” Cleverly said. “Let’s be more normal.”

He said Reform *** was just a “pale imitation” of his party and stressed there would be “no mergers, no deals”.

And to enthusiastic applause, he called for the abolition of “bad taxes like stamp duty” and more housebuilding.

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Robert Jenrick has focused his pitch on his plan to slash immigration

Jenrick – the bookies’ favourite to win – said he would rebuild “a new ************* party”, an echo of New Labour in the 1990s.

The former immigration minister admitted the last ************* government “******* to deliver the strong NHS, the strong economy and, yes, the strong border we promised”.

In language used by Reform *** MPs, Jenrick outlined five changes the party must make to challenge Labour, including “securing our borders” and “defending our culture”.

He said he would introduce “an effective freeze in net migration” and leave the ********* Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty.

Jenrick, who voted to remain in the 2016 EU referendum, promised a British Bill of Rights to “finish the job” begun by Brexit, and an increase in defence spending, funded by cutting overseas aid.

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Kemi Badenoch promised sweeping refoms to the British state

Last to speak was Badenoch, who pledged a “reboot” of the British state as she attacked what she branded “agressive identity politics” and “socialism”.

Speaking about her upbringing in Nigeria, Badenoch said she valued “************* freedoms” and had “seen what happens when a country loses sight of those principles”.

The former business secretary argued that the ***’s system of government was “broken” and her party needed to go back to “first principles” to fix it.

“If I become leader, we will immediately begin a once in a generation undertaking,” she said, promising a “comprehensive plan to reprogramme the British state”.

Her plan, she said, would focus on reforming international agreements, human rights laws, the Treasury, the Bank of England, the civil service and NHS.

She said her campaign was about “renewal” in time for the next general election, adding: “We have it in our power to make the 2030s a golden decade.”

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