Conservative peer Ruth Davidson has said she thinks there is a “good chance” there will be another Tory leadership election in two years – despite the fact one is currently under way.
Baroness Davidson told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that the recent Conservative Party conference showed that both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, who have made the final two, can “make mistakes”.
The former leader of the Scottish Tories also revealed she voted for James Cleverly, the former home secretary and foreign secretary who was knocked out of the race on Wednesday amid accusations of vote lending.
Baroness Davidson said she thought it was likely that Mr Cleverly would receive a job in the shadow cabinet.
“I think almost because it’s such a small parliamentary group, they will all have to have jobs,” she told the podcast.
“You don’t get to sort of take a back seat. And he will work with whoever. But I guess he’s already worked with four prime ministers.”
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Tory leadership race: James Cleverly knocked out – leaving Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch in final two
There was shock and surprise on Wednesday night when Mr Cleverly, who catapulted to the top of the scoreboard after he impressed at conference, was knocked out of the race after receiving 37 votes.
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Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick, both from the right of the party, won 42 and 41 votes, respectively.
Some senior Tory MPs believe that some of Mr Cleverly’s backers “went rogue” and voted for Mr Jenrick in a botched attempt to knock Ms Badenoch out of the race.
It’s also claimed that a group of at least five MPs voted for Mr Cleverly 24 hours earlier to boost his vote in the third round to make the figures look as if he was heading for victory, while fully intending to switch to Ms Badenoch in the final round.
Baroness Davidson highlighted missteps by Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick.
During conference, Mr Jenrick claimed the SAS was being forced to kill rather than capture terrorists because the “European Court will set them free”, something many of his colleagues disputed.
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Former business secretary Ms Badenoch was forced to backtrack over comments she made about “excessive” maternity pay and civil servants being jailed.
Baroness Davidson said both candidates had shown a “misunderstanding of what growing from opposition is – it’s about persuading people, it’s about telling them that they can trust you, that you can deliver for them.
“It’s a lot of round tables. It’s a lot of listening. It’s a lot of bringing people onside. It’s a lot of being humble and asking for people to help you.
“Neither of them, I think, are suited to that in terms of their personality types. And I think that’s a problem.”
