The first of the big Tory leadership interviews kicked off today with Tom Tugendhat in the hotseat. The former security minister put forward his case to a packed out arena in Birmingham — calling for CCHQ reform, apologising for recent years of Tory ‘infighting and chaos’ and insisting he has what it takes to rebuild the ‘Conservative family’.
Receiving a warm welcome from the crowd, Tugendhat was quick to crack the jokes too. On just how many countries had sanctioned him, he quipped: ‘I’m still working on North Korea…’. He blasted Nigel Farage for saying he wants to ‘destroy’ the Conservatives, reiterating he would not entertain the idea of a merger with Reform. And joking that Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves sees ‘more black holes than Mr Spock’, the Tory contender then slammed Labour’s GB Energy venture as ‘insane’ — before on second thought adding: ‘Then again, it is Miliband.’ Ouch.
But it was the Liberal Democrats who came off worst from Tugendhat’s tirade.
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