'No sane people are going' Leadership race casts pall over Tory conference

On Tuesday, four candidates will make their pitches to lead the Conservative party from a conference stage in Birmingham. Their immediate challenge after the Tory rout this summer will be to reinvigorate demoralised MPs and members.

- Eleni Courea

Starting on Sunday, the annual gathering of the Tory faithful - the first in 14 years to be held from opposition - looks as if it will be a low-key affair. The evening schedule, ordinarily packed with corporate receptions, is sparse.

Businesses and lobbyists are making cursory visits for a day or two, or skipping the event entirely. Rishi Sunak is attending on Sunday only and will not make a speech. Former MPs who lost their seats in July are staying away. "I checked in with a bunch of sane people and none seemed to be going," one former minister remarked.

Even among current Conservative MPs there is little enthusiasm for any of the four candidates vying for the Tory crown. Less than half the parliamentary party - 55 of 121 MPs, according to ConservativeHome - have openly declared who they support.

In the latest round of voting this month, Robert Jenrick had 33 MP backers followed by Kemi Badenoch with 28. James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat each had 21.

This tight parliamentary race contrasts with 2019, when Boris Johnson surged well ahead of his rivals, and the 2022 contest, when Sunak did.

"We're going to go into a conference where no one is streets ahead. The MPs aren't convinced by anyone. I don't think the members are either," a Tory source said.

Demonstrating their popularity with the Conservative grassroots at conference will be a core objective for all four leadership candidates, despite the fact that only a tiny minority of party members actually attend the gathering.