Tory leaders have betrayed party members

SIR – Sir Simon Clarke MP writes (Commentary, January 24): “If we change the leader to a prime minister who shares the instincts of the majority and is willing to lead the country in the right direction, we will recover strongly in 2024.”

He also asks: “Where is the radical supply-side programme to jolt our economy out of the low-growth rut we and much of the West are clearly trapped in?”

May I remind him that the Conservative Party membership gave him just such a leader on September 6 2022? Just 50 days later she was forced by her colleagues to resign.

The membership is not deserting the Conservative Party; the parliamentary party has deserted the membership.

Measham, Leicestershire

SIR – Dale Fletcher (Letters, January 26) suggests that Penny Mordaunt may be the one to “unite both party and voters” against Labour. The last thing the Tories need is yet another futile attempt to unite their present disparate group of MPS.

There are far too many whose natural home would be with the Liberal Democrats or the Greens, or even in Brussels. Voters will soon sort that out. The Tories’ future selection process should be far more rigorous and not aim for a broad church. The trouble with a broad church is that it doesn’t stand for anything.

Rye, East Sussex

SIR – Penny Mordaunt may well be an excellent choice for the next Conservative leader. The only problem is that The Telegraph recently published a list of Tories at risk of losing their seats at the next general election, with Ms Mordaunt among the likely casualties.

Barkingside, Essex