Katy Balls Katy Balls

The winners (and losers) from Tory conference

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Who was the winner from today’s Tory leadership speeches? The final day of the party conference saw all four candidates take to the stage in a bid to have a David Cameron moment. Back in 2005, Cameron managed to gain momentum at the party conference with an assured speech (no notes) and get one over on his main rival – the then frontrunner – David Davis. So, has anyone managed a similar feat in Birmingham?

It was Tom Tugendhat who was up first to speak. The leadership hopeful – viewed to be on the left of the party – spoke about restoring trust and the path back to power. He talked about the NHS, national security and growing the economy. However, it was the candidate who followed him who managed to grab the audience’s attention. Step forward James Cleverly. The former foreign secretary began with an apology, saying his party needs to say sorry to the public in order to get a hearing.

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