Inside the One Nation Tory leadership hustings

What is a one nation Tory? On Tuesday evening, various leadership contenders descended to the committee room corridor to try and convince MPs that they could be described as one. Earlier this year, the One Nation Tory caucus was launched – led by Amber Rudd and Nicky Morgan – and was reported to be aimed at keeping the Tories in the centre rather than lurching to the right in a leadership contest.The party has since declared a list of its core values – which range from protecting the union to the environment and free enterprise. The view that they have garnered the most attention for, however, is their opposition to a no deal Brexit.

I chaired the first hustings and asked Sajid Javid, Rory Stewart, Boris Johnson and Andrea Leadsom a range of questions about their plans as Prime Minister – both domestic and on Brexit. The audience for their comments were not just the MPs who make up the caucus but any Conservative MP who wanted to join.