Rishi Sunak had one warning for the Conservatives in an otherwise low-profile speech at the party’s annual conference: End the "squabbling” that derailed his premiership of the United Kingdom. It likely fell on deaf ears.
The first day was dominated by jibes between the front-runners in the race to succeed Sunak as leader, former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick. Tory hopes of a show of unity and a conference bereft of personal attacks — even as the candidates delivered their pitches — lay in shreds before the meeting had even got going.
It was far from ideal for a party seeking to capitalize on the new Labour government’s early troubles under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, including a row over donations and an MP quitting his party over the weekend. The Tories came to conference in a better mood than expected just weeks on from their seismic election defeat on July 4, and Sunak’s message was meant to focus minds.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.