James Cleverly found some unlikely support in parliament on Monday night. Having just been ousted from the Tory leadership contest, he won warm words from the Home Secretary. Yvette Cooper, speaking at a Westminster drinks reception, was sympathetic. She said she knew what it was like to come third in a leadership contest. For her, it was in 2015, when she lost to Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham. For Cleverly, it was this month, when he was defeated by Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. She wasn’t sure who should feel worse. ‘Yes, sister!’ shouted Cleverly in solidarity. But Cooper wasn’t finished yet. She ended by diagnosing his problem: he couldn’t count.
The Tories are still piecing together what happened in the final parliamentary rounds of the leadership contest. Cleverly was ahead in the penultimate ballot, leading some of his supporters to believe his path to the final two was guaranteed. Supporters of Jenrick and Badenoch were nervous on the day. Then Cleverly came third by a handful of votes and the two candidates on the right of the party marched ahead. As one Tory strategist explained, the result was a case of ‘mental MPs playing games and effing it up’.
But regardless of who snuck through to the final two, the more worrying aspect is that not one candidate managed to muster more than a third of parliamentary support. ‘It would have been healthier had one of them bombed,’ says a shadow minister. Instead, the party split three ways. ‘I look at the numbers and I wonder how they are going to be able to lead while doing anything meaningful,’ adds a senior CCHQ figure.
For Tories who are longer in the tooth, it all feels a bit like 2001.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in