I have some sympathy for Bob Blackman, the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and who will play a major role in shaping the contest to replace Rishi Sunak. Leadership contests are always vicious affairs, but the circumstances of this one lend themselves to particularly bitter fight: a historic victory that within five years had disintegrated into a historic defeat, after two chaotic changes of leader mid-parliament and the annihilation of the Conservative voter base.
As I pointed out after the election, you can now cross the length and breadth of England and Wales without setting foot in a Conservative constituency. Some of the safest “Blue Wall” seats turned Labour red or Lib Dem yellow. Reform is snapping at the Tories’ heels to become the party of the right. The Conservative Party is short of not just MPs, but of money, energy and enthusiasm across the wider ecosystem, from local associations upwards. The last thing the party needs now is to turn on itself, with leadership contenders tearing into each other as they attempt to making it to the top.
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