Conservative MP Danny Kruger has given a damning assessment of his party’s record in government – saying the country is in a worse shape than it was when they first came to power in 2010.
Kruger, a leading backbencher and founder of the increasingly influential New Conservatives group, said the Conservatives risked being ejected from power this year having left the country “sadder, less united and less conservative” than they found it.
Speaking to a private event of Tory members organised by the thinktank ResPublica last October, Kruger said: “The narrative that the public has now firmly adopted – that over 13 years things have got worse – is one we just have to acknowledge and admit.”
He added: “Some things have been done right and well. The free school movement that Michael Gove oversaw, and universal credit – and Brexit, even though it was in the teeth of the Tory party hierarchy itself, and mismanaged – nevertheless Brexit will be the great standing achievement of our time in office.
“These things are significant, but, overall I’m afraid, if we leave office next year, we would have left the country sadder, less united and less conservative than when we found it.”
The comments have come to light as the prime minister seeks to rally his troops with a hint of tax cuts to come in the budget ahead of an election later this year.
But according to new polling out from YouGov, the vast majority of Brits agree with the assessment of Kruger on the state of the nation, and are unlikely to back the Tories again as a result.
Over all, just 1 per cent of voters say the party has left the country in a much better stare, while six per cent agree that it is somewhat better.
Conversely, 75 per cent of Brits think it is worse, and even 68 per cent of Conservative voters would agree.
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