Voters gave up on the Conservatives’ “bickering”, James Cleverly has said during his campaign to become the party’s leader.
The shadow home secretary, who first became a minister during Theresa May’s premiership, claimed as soon as his party had named a new prime minister, “there were people within the party who set about removing them”.
After David Cameron’s resignation following the 2016 Brexit referendum, four Conservative MPs served as prime minister – Mrs May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
The shortest among their terms in office was Ms Truss’s, who stayed in Number 10 for fewer than 50 days.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Cleverly said: “Look, when the voters tell you something, you should listen.
“The British voters told us not that they wanted a Labour Government, in fact, in many instances they told us they didn’t want a Labour Government.
“But what they did tell us is they wanted us out of office. And we have got to listen to that. We have got to respond to that.
“There’s no point getting angry with the voters. We certainly shouldn’t imply or say that they were wrong. Voters are never wrong.
“Sometimes politics is brutal but it’s beautiful.”
The front door of number 10 Downing Street in London where four Tory PMs served after David Cameron (PA)
Mr Cleverly spoke to Sky News in Birmingham, where he held a “Bevs with Clevs” drinks event for supporters on Saturday ahead of his party’s annual conference.
He declined to name a prime minister who he blamed most for the party’s 2024 defeat but added: “I’ll tell you what the public told me they didn’t like – they didn’t like the constant infighting, they didn’t like the bickering.
“They didn’t like the fact that as soon as someone became prime minister, there were people within the party who set about removing them as prime minister.
“We didn’t do that just once or twice. We did it over and over again.
“The British people told us that they wanted us to think about them not to think about ourselves.”
Asked about his past defence of former Conservative Party policies, the shadow home secretary said: “I have been a team player, which has meant I have had to promote other people’s ideas. I was happy to do so, it’s what you do as part of a team.”
His rivals are shadow housing, communities and local government secretary Kemi Badenoch, whose North West Essex constituency lies next to Mr Cleverly’s Braintree patch, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick and shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat.