Three key steps to kickstart the Tory Party revival

UST ONE year ago 125 Tory MPs, including myself, lost our seats. After 14 years in power — and a particularly turbulent final stretch - a Labour victory had seemed inevitable. We looked exhausted, divided and without a clear direction. Tribal ill-discipline repeatedly undermined Rishi Sunak’s efforts to steady the ship and effectively handed Labour the win.

- By Tobias Ellwood FORMER CONSERVATIVE DEFENCE MINISTER

What surprised many of us was the scale of that win — a majority just shy of Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide. It felt grim. Labour had played it ultra-safe: said little, stayed low, and won a 174-seat majority.

Looking back, it’s clear the Conservatives could have lost better. With more unity, humility and purpose, we might have limited the damage. Sadly, tribal factions were already laying out post-election leadership stalls in the middle of the general election.

A couple of weeks later, Rishi Sunak invited the 125 of us for a drink at the Carlton Club. Far from being a wake, there was a clear collective spirit: we still had fire in our bellies and a passion to return. We were not done yet. The depth of ministerial experience in that room was impressive. There are now more former Conservative MPs than current ones. When the party returns to government, drawing on this vast pool of Whitehall experience will make complete sense.

Labour’s election strategy followed a familiar formula — one we’ve used ourselves on many occasions. Appeal beyond your base, and you can win. Move too far left or right, and you won’t get the numbers. It’s how Disraeli, Gladstone, Baldwin, Churchill, Wilson, Macmillan, Thatcher, Blair and Cameron built majorities.