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Candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservatives will be given a yellow card if they “indulge in attacking each other”, party bosses have said. In 2022, the Tories underwent two bad-tempered leadership contests in the space of just two months, exacerbating the party’s divisions. Those in charge now are hoping to avoid a third bout of infighting. Yet even before this latest round began, one of the candidates – Kemi Badenoch – reportedly accused rival Suella Braverman of having a “very public” nervous breakdown. Ultimately Braverman did not make the cut. Badenoch did, and she now faces five others: James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat. Bob Blackman, the newly-elected chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs, which is overseeing the contest, said the new rule was being introduced to avoid “backbiting”. But it may be doomed to fail.
Blackman appeared to suggest there was no need for further punishment, should a candidate repeatedly be found in breach.
It’s also not clear what the threshold might be, who would determine whether a breach had been committed or whether complaints could relate to comments made before the official contest launch.
All the leadership candidates are former Cabinet ministers, although Tugendhat, emerging as the centrist favourite, is yet to make secretary of state level. But being one step removed from the centre of an unpopular former government may be no bad thing.
Badenoch is the bookmakers’ favourite – and her biggest challenge is likely Patel, a former home secretary and darling of the Tory membership.
Conservative MPs will decide the final two candidates, with Tory party members selecting the winner on 2 November. Quite how many yellow cards will be accrued between now and then remains to be seen.
