The Tory leadership contest has become increasingly bitter and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the public.
After the numerous scandals involving the outgoing Boris Johnson have already cast a very dark shadow over the party, the leadership contest has done nothing to repair the damage.
Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer warned that the “puerile” nature of the contest could see the Tories turfed out of office at the next election.
“The puerile nature of this leadership contest is embarrassing,” he said. “Time to raise the standards.”
It comes as Rishi Sunak has acknowledged he is “playing catch-up” to Liz Truss as he seemingly claimed the Tory leadership race’s sought-after underdog status.
The 42-year-old alluded to the fallout from his wife’s tax status when he appeared to suggest some commentary claimed he “wouldn’t even have been a part of this contest” if she had not announced her decision to pay UK taxes on her overseas income while he was still chancellor in April.
As the Foreign Secretary continued to best him in the polls, Mr Sunak’s weekend has been characterised by his pledge to end “woke nonsense” and his supporters attributing his unpopularity to “latent racism” – a claim which he was quick to dispute as incorrect.
Leadership letter
But a letter in The Guardian from Elizabeth and Michael Barnell says they are worried about the Conservative party’s lurch to the right and its loss of empathy and decency.
“it seems that everything we hold dear – human decency, integrity, empathy – has been lost along the way,” the write.
Here is a screenshot of the letter.
Do you agree with their thoughts?
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