In the forty-plus years I have been a member of the Conservative Party, the night of the 9th of April 1992 will always be ingrained on my memory. Polls had closed for the general election, and as the results came in, it was clear we had defied expectations and won a historic fourth election victory.
Looking back, the reason we won that election was the public trusted us, they had confidence in us as a party of government, and crucially they knew what we stood for. People understood we were a party of aspiration, of opportunity, of sound money, of lower taxes. And they could see we were all united behind those values.
That is where we have lost our way over recent years. It’s clear that we have lost our reputation for competence, voters do not trust that we will deliver what we say, and people simply do not know what the Conservative Party stands for anymore. The next leader has a huge task ahead of them, to urgently rebuild trust, to bring the party together behind a positive conservative vision for our country, and ultimately to win the next election.
I have put myself forward in this contest because I have the experience, the skills and the drive to take on that challenge.
We need a leader who can hold Keir Starmer to account and show the public it is us, not the Labour Party, who are the natural party of government. That is especially true when it comes to the economy. Not only do I have extensive experience as a Cabinet minister running the largest public service department in Whitehall, I have also served as Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee and previously as a Treasury Minister responsible for our tax system.
And just as important is my experience before politics, when I set up and grew successful businesses here and in the United States. I am not a professional politician, I entered politics in my late 40s. I know how our economy works in the real world and that it is not government which actually creates jobs and wealth, it’s people and businesses. And the state should be empowering them to do that, not getting in their way.
That also means I know how to build and lead a team, and my past roles as Leader of the House of Commons and Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee gave me invaluable lessons working with colleagues across the whole of the parliamentary party, developing mutual respect and constructive relationships. I believe I am the right person to unite the party and lead us to victory.
That task must start urgently. We may have five years to the next general election, but there are local elections in May which we must focus on first. My plan for the party involves transforming the way we campaign and how we engage with our members to get the most out of the great talent we have in the party. Too many associations and candidates are feeling ignored and abandoned by the centre. I want to give members more say and local organisers more support to maximise our resources.
If we are going to deliver real change, we need to be willing to take bold action and do things differently. In government I was taking forward radical reforms to tackle issues which for far too long politicians had ducked because they were either too hard or too controversial. My welfare reforms were already set to deliver billions in savings from the benefits bill according to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and I wanted to go still further with a complete overhaul of the disability benefits system to stop the costs rising ever higher. The majority of the funding for the further tax cuts we were able to promise in our election manifesto came from my reforms. I am not afraid to take on the difficult issues, and I know how to get things done.
None of this will be easy, but it is vital we succeed. We need to rebuild trust, deliver change, and win. The future of our great country depends on it.
“I am not afraid to take on the difficult issues, and I know how to get things done” says Conservative leadership contender Mel Stride
