conservative Hopeful Leader Tom Tugendhat He admitted this morning that his party should “apologise” to the British for its mistakes.
The former security minister who now holds the same position in the shadow cabinet has put himself forward as By Rishi Sunak possible replacement after the poor performance of the conservatives in the general election.
But while he promised to improve the party, Tugendhat said it would “take time” for the British people to listen.
Thursday, Today show host Emma Barnett He asked the former minister: “Specifically, what did you do wrong (in government)?”
Tugendhat said the problem was a “non-compliance” in the number of migrants and the detention of boats.
But Barnett pressed for details, saying: “Was it Rwanda “A costly distraction from stopping the ships and reducing those numbers? The figures for what has been spent are outrageous.”
The Home Office revealed this week that the previous government spent £700m on the scheme, which ultimately sent just four volunteers to Rwanda.
He simply said that “clearly the execution” of this supposed “deterrence” failed.
Barnett replied: “Decisions were made, but they were not implemented, as you said. That is personal, people who are still in the party.”
“A lot of people thought that factional fighting was more important than delivering results for the British people,” he said. “We need to make sure that the Conservative Party is united.”
“This is one of the most extraordinary countries in the world and one of the things that has served this country well over the last few hundred years, very often, is a conservative government.”
Barnett replied: “Do you think your apology is ready to be heard by the British people?”
“Well, it’s going to take time. We have to apologize for the mistakes we made,” he said. “We have to acknowledge that we didn’t deliver on our promises.”
“What were the wrong decisions?” Barnet pressed, this time asking whether they were related to income tax thresholds.
“You can analyze these things one by one if you want,” he replied, but she interrupted him to say that she was only taking his own words.
He added: “Do you want to be a leader? Can you commit to what decision was wrong? Was the one in Rwanda wrong?”
“We are just three weeks into a five-year parliament; I am not going to put forward policies based on conservative values,” Tugendhat replied, sounding a little frustrated.
Barnet stepped in and said: “I can’t get you to commit to what went wrong. It would be a great help.”
Finally, he highlighted the number of immigrants and high taxes, but said there was “a whole infrastructure” of policies that needed to be built in the Conservative Party over the course of the parliament.
Barnet then tried to press him on his claim in The Telegraph that he would pull the UK out of the ECHR, days after the Prime Minister. Keir Starmer He said the UK would “never” leave the convention.
He said: “What I am saying is that we must ensure that all institutions are at the service of the British people. That has to be the fundamental agenda.”
“Honestly, Emma, I’m sure you would never say that we should be part of organizations and treaties that do not serve the people.”
Barnett reminded him that he had already offered a “vociferous defence” of the ECHR and added: “Just to be clear, are you prepared to abandon the ECHR if necessary?”
“I am prepared to ensure that every alliance, every treaty we sign, serves the interests of the British people.”
Tugendhat was eliminated from the Conservative Party leadership race after… Boris Johnson He resigned and, in fact, ended up supporting Liz Truss instead.
