Cleverly hits out at populism amid mayor bid rumour

SENIOR Conservative Sir James Cleverly hit out at the “fantasy” of populist politics as he said the Tories should return to government “at every level” amid speculation he could run for the London mayoralty.

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The former home secretary said calls to “smash the system” and “start again from scratch” were “complete nonsense” in a speech making the case for greater accountability through realistic Whitehall reforms.

Sir James also declined to rule out a bid for City Hall or another run for the party leadership as he was questioned about his political future following his defeat to replace Rishi Sunak last year.

Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research think tank on Tuesday, the backbencher called for greater accountability in politics by reducing the “cloud of quangos” in the system.