I’m a safer bet than Boris: Javid begins his ‘Team Saj’ bid for Tory leadership
Home Secretary becomes ninth Tory to join race to lead party as poll analysis points to hung parliament
‘I entered politics to do my best for this country, the country which has done so much for me’
SAJID JAVID has entered the race to be Conservative Party leader as he tries to convince Tory MPS he is better placed than Boris Johnson to win the next general election.
The Home Secretary became the ninth person to declare their candidacy, as he promised to be a prime minister who is “always straight” with voters if he gets the job.
With a nod to his Pakistani heritage, Mr Javid also said he wanted to “do my best for … the country which has done so much for me”.
It came as an analysis of the European election result by polling experts suggested Britain would be left with a hung parliament in which even a deal between the Tories, Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party and the DUP could not command a majority if a general election was held tomorrow.
Mr Javid, 49, has made little secret of his long-held ambition to be Tory leader, and believes he can win in more constituencies than Mr Johnson.
Allies believe Mr Javid can attract more votes from young people and ethnic minorities than Mr Johnson, and would do better in the North, which they say makes him a better bet.
Their argument is that Mr Johnson would pile up large numbers of votes in certain areas, rather than having an even spread that would win more constituencies and beat Jeremy Corbyn or Nigel Farage.
John Glen, the City minister who is backing Mr Javid, said he was “a serious, strong and experienced candidate who will reach beyond the Conservative Party’s membership”.
Mr Javid said: “I love my country and my pledge to the British people is to be a leader who is always straight, fighting for their interests.
“I entered politics to do my best for this country, the country which has done so much for me. As prime minister I would strive to achieve that ambition every single day.”
Mr Javid, who voted Remain in the EU referendum after initially indicating he would vote Brexit, has hired the political strategist Matthew Elliott, the former chief executive of Vote Leave, to run his campaign and increase his appeal among Eurosceptic MPS.
He launched his campaign via a video on social media, using the handle Team Saj as he appeared to embrace claims that he refers to himself as The Saj – something his aides have denied.
Mr Javid believes he can win a general election from the centre ground, and is far more cautious about the merits of a no-deal Brexit than opponents such as Mr Johnson.
An analysis of the European election result by Electoral Calculus, which
‘There is political pressure to move people away from the moderate consensus in the middle towards the edges’
‘As results made all too clear, we must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is renewed trust in our democracy’
takes into account Westminster voting intention rather than simply the result of the poll, suggests the Tories would win just one more seat than Labour if an election was held now.
The Tories would win 255 seats – down 58 – with Labour on 254, the Lib Dems on 46, SNP on 56, Brexit Party on 15 and Northern Irish parties on 18.
That would mean Mr Corbyn could command enough support in Parliament to become prime minister if he could stitch up an alliance with the Remain-supporting Lib Dems and SNP, who would likely demand concessions on Scottish independence and a second referendum. The calculations are based on the assumption that large numbers of Tory voters who backed Mr Farage would return to the Conservatives at a general election.
If they did not, the Brexit Party’s result, finishing first in 80 per cent of constituencies, would translate to 458 seats under a first past the post general election.
Martin Baxter, chief executive of Electoral Calculus, said: “The political fragmentation stops anyone getting a majority in Westminster. You can see the Conservative candidates are starting to make the calculation that if they can appeal to the Brexit Party and get their voters back, they could do well on that side. There is political pressure to move people away from the moderate consensus in the middle towards the edges.”
Mr Javid, whose Pakistani Muslim parents migrated to Britain before he was born, and whose father was a bus driver, attended a state school and joined an investment bank after graduating from Exeter University.
He was given his first ministerial job by David Cameron in 2012 and served as culture secretary, business secretary and housing secretary before Theresa May promoted him to the Home Office. He said: “As [Sunday’s] results made all too clear, we must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is renewed trust in our democracy.”
Meanwhile, another leadership contender, Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, took a different approach, posting a selfie video on social media and inviting the public to challenge him on his views and policies as he stood outside Barking station.
Today Kit Malthouse, the housing minister, will also enter the party’s leadership race. The former deputy mayor of London to Boris Johnson said: “There is a yearning for change out there. This leadership campaign cannot be about the same old faces, scarred by the wars that have split the Tory Party over the last three years. I believe I’m the new face, with fresh new ideas, from a new and talented generation.”
The other Tory MPS who have declared they will run are Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock, Esther Mcvey and Dominic Raab.
Nominations for the Tory leadership will close on June 10, with Theresa May’s successor elected before the end of July.