Tugendhat warns against Tories becoming Reform UK

Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has warned against his party becoming Reform UK, as he made his pitch to party members.

Speaking from the main stage at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Tugendhat said the Tories needed to "rebuild trust" with the public, after the party's historic election defeat in July.

Rival leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch said she was prepared to work with Nigel Farage's party in Parliament but ruled out an electoral pact.

Tugendhat and Badenoch were the first contenders to speak in the main hall, with Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly getting their chance on Tuesday.

Both candidates were interviewed by GB News political editor Christopher Hope, before taking questions from party members.

Elsewhere, Cleverly told a fringe meeting Rishi Sunak's "stop the boats" slogan was an "error".

The slogan referred to the Conservative government’s efforts to curb the number of people trying to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Cleverly, who later used the phrase numerous times when he was home secretary, said it "distilled a very, very complicated and challenging problem into a soundbite".

When even one boat crossing could be deemed "a failure", it was "an unachievable target", he added.

In July the Tories suffered their worst general election defeat in the party's parliamentary history, losing votes to both the Liberal Democrats on the left and Reform UK on the right.

Asked whether the Lib Dems or Reform were the biggest enemy, Tugendhat, who is from the centrist One Nation wing of the party, said: "The enemy is trust. We have eroded trust in ourselves and we need to rebuild trust in the Conservative Party."

He argued people did not vote for Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to become prime minister.

"They voted against us. People woke up in the morning and they wanted to get us out," he added.

Asked whether he would do a deal with Mr Farage, he said: "My job is to reform the Conservative Party not to become Reform."

When the same questions were put to Badenoch, she said "anyone who's not a Conservative has got to be defeated".

She argued Reform politicians were not "real Conservatives" and "not serious people" but that Reform voters "are our people".

Pressed over whether she would do a deal with Farage's party, she said: "I am always prepared to work with any other party that wants to help us deliver our agenda. I think that's fine in Parliament, but in an election, no."

She added: "At the next election we have to be the centre-right option. If we split that vote, we are going to be out of power for another five years and Labour will destroy this country."

At a fringe event later, Badenoch accused Reform of "squatting" on Tory territory and "parking their tanks on our lawn" - and pledged to fight the party along with Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

She promised to defend Conservatism and to renew her party by offering change and "telling people the truth in a compelling way".

During the session Tugendhat, a former officer in the Territorial Army who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeatedly highlighted his military background, saying "my entire life has been about public service".

However, he was challenged over whether he was the most inexperienced candidate, given the only government role he has previously held is security minister.

Tugendhat shrugged off the question with a dig at his rivals’ lack of military record, saying: "I'm not going to hold against anybody their inexperience in combat or their inexperience in foreign affairs.

"I won't hold against them the areas where they didn't serve their country and put their lives on the line. They have served in other ways and I think we should respect that."

Meanwhile, Badenoch faced questions about her suggestion on Sunday that maternity pay had "gone too far".

The shadow housing secretary insisted she had been answering a different question and that "maternity pay is quite important".

She added that her comments were part of a "long discussion about the role of the state in deciding what businesses should do".