Leadership Limbo: Kettering Tories Divided as Party Faces Crucial Vote Amid Historic Defeat

In the closely contested constituency of Kettering, disheartened Conservative Party supporters are divided over who should be the next leader. As the six hopefuls aiming to succeed Rishi Sunak as leader gear up for the initial vote by Members of Parliament, the absence of unity among the rank-and-file indicates a tight competition ahead.

By Darren McCaffrey, correspondent for political affairs

Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at 1

The market town of Kettering in the East Midlands is renowned for its reliable boots, Weetabix cereal, and once had ties to John Profumo.

This constituency has alternated between Labour and Conservative control, making it a classic swing seat over the last three decades.

In July, it contributed to the Labour Party securing a 158-seat majority.

The Conservative Party has suffered its most significant setback since 1832, prompting members in Kettering and across the nation to analyze the reasons for the defeat and, crucially, to consider their next steps.

The activists I encountered are undoubtedly disheartened.

"Josh mentioned he felt awful," while Linda expressed to me that she "expected the outcome."

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Everyone concurred that the decision to advance the election date was a significant error, and that Nigel Farage's Reform Party had siphoned off a substantial number of their votes.

What comes after this?

The issue facing the Conservative Party is that their electoral support didn't only shift to Reform UK; they also saw defections to the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and in Kettering, even the Green Party managed to siphon off some votes.

A major challenge for any incoming leader is to forge a wide-ranging alliance, a task that certainly requires careful maneuvering.

Today marks the official start of the Conservative Party's leadership election process.

Six contenders are competing for leadership, and today marks the first round of voting by MPs, where the candidate with the fewest votes will be ousted.

Next week, there will be another session to narrow down the remaining candidates to just four.

The four individuals will present their arguments at the Conservative Party conference, after which two additional voting rounds will narrow the field to just two contenders.

Members will ultimately decide on the new leader, with the outcome set to be revealed on November 2.

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According to Jonathan, many members I interviewed believe that adopting Mr. Farage's approach is not the solution, describing him as "a great activist, but not an exceptional leader."

Discover more: Kemi Badenoch claims Conservatives 'spoke conservatively but acted liberally'; Tom Tugendhat apologizes for the 'disrespect and hypocrisy' demonstrated by past Conservative administrations.

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Consensus was scarce on who should assume control.

One supporter was for Priti Patel, another favored James Cleverly, while yet another expressed disappointment, noting he was familiar with only two of the contenders.

In this leadership race, there isn't a clear front-runner standing out from the rest.

Today's outcome is anticipated to reveal a tightly contested race.

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