Boris’s decision to quit yesterday fired the starting gun on the greatest game of them all: the Tory leadership race. Suella Braverman was first out the blocks on Thursday night before, er, Johnson had even gone. But it’s the launch of the second official candidate, Tom Tugendhat, which has attracted more interest. In traditional Tory style he began his campaign with an article in the Telegraph, emphasising his own personal values and the need to tackle Britain’s economic problems – a conscious effort to broaden his appeal beyond being pigeonholed as solely interested in matters of defence and foreign policy.
If Tugendhat is to reach the later stages of a leadership contest, he will need to win over as much support as possible from various blocs within the party. One fruitful constituency could be the One Nation caucus of the party, which represents about 50 MPs who are – rightly or wrongly – viewed as being on the centre or centre left of the party.
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