Tory faithful demand a true blue champion

DTWO Tory MPs overheard in the Commons: ‘Boris won an election landslide, got Brexit done and got us out of the pandemic — but was brought down by a drink and a piece of birthday cake.’ Quite.

oes the next Conservative leader need to be a True Blue Tory? It certainly seems that way. Campaign group Conservative Voice, which represents rank-andfile members and promotes Thatcherite values, has commissioned a new poll — with very revealing results. It shows the anger over the recent ‘drift’ in policy — with 69 per cent demanding a return to traditional Tory values.

The poll of 875 members, the first since Boris Johnson’s resignation last week, also shows that the great referendum dividing line persists: the overwhelming majority of Tory members want the next leader to be a Brexiteer.

‘otherwise,’ says a Tory member quoted in the report, ‘the fanatical europhiles that did for Boris will have this country still tied to eU regulations and rejoin by stealth.’

The poll also reveals support for lower taxes, slashing red tape, halting the rush to ‘net zero’ and opening up fracking sites.

Conservative Voice has supporters around the Cabinet table including Home secretary Priti Patel, Culture secretary Nadine Dorries and new Health secretary stephen Barclay.

Don Porter, the co-founder of Conservative Voice, tells me: ‘The results paint a clear picture. The next leader needs to radically change the direction of the Government. There is, however, far less clarity on who the right individual to deliver that change is. The field is wide open.’