Stephen Crabb sets out nervy Tory leadership pitch ahead of today’s vote

Stephen Crabb is one of the least experienced candidates in this Tory leadership contest and that was on show during his interview on the Today programme just now. To his credit, Crabb – unlike Theresa May – has made it clear that he doesn’t want EU citizens living in the UK to be ‘negotiating chips’ in any negotiation. He also comes across as likeable in his answers about the importance of staying civilised during Brexit negotiations. But whilst it’s patently obvious that Crabb is deeply principled it’s hard not to ignore the simple fact that he sounds nervous. This is sure to stand against him when he’s pitted against some of the others in this Conservative leadership race, particularly ‘experience’ candidates like Theresa May. On Article 50, he suggested Britain needed a ‘period of months’ for it to come into force. But despite Crabb saying this was an ‘obvious’ time frame, there wasn’t much explanation why.