Dear John,

In a Parliamentary democracy, the role of Official Opposition is crucial. It's built into our system of checks and balances that there should be someone to question the government and hold them to account. Given the vast national challenges Labour faces at the moment, we desperately need a sensible party in that role.

But the Conservatives - who let’s not forget struggled to field a functional Government - don't seem up to playing it.

More strikingly, no one in Britain even seems to care about the results of their upcoming leadership contest. This public disinterest speaks volumes about the current state of the Conservative Party and its perceived relevance in the political landscape.

After an astonishing series of scandals and failures in Government, the Conservatives seem completely unwilling to accept or acknowledge the reasons for their catastrophic electoral loss. This reluctance is evident in their leadership candidates, who appear oblivious to the public's overwhelming rejection of their party this summer.

Take, for example, Robert Jenrick (or ‘Bobby J’ as they call him on the Tory WhatsApp groups 😳), the back-bencher who resigned over the Rwanda scheme "not going far enough". Jenrick was part of a massive cash-for-favours cronyism scheme back in 2020, playing exactly the kind of role that destroyed public trust in his party.

Yet, even though he's considered a moderate who may bring the party back to its roots, Jenrick is making no acknowledgement of the deep-rooted failures that brought his party to a crashing defeat. Instead, he's doing faux-authenticity pieces ([link removed]) in the media, talking about his use of Ozempic to lose weight…a stark illustration of the disconnect between the party's priorities and the public's concerns.

This pattern of avoiding accountability extends to other candidates as well. Just today, leadership front-runner James Cleverly made his case ([link removed]) on social media, arguing that "I've delivered for the British people throughout my career" and that "Talk is cheap, delivery is what matters." Such statements betray a profound misunderstanding – or willful ignorance – of the public sentiment that led to their recent electoral defeat.

The public's utter disinterest in the Tory leadership contest is not hard to understand. These politicians have shown us who they are – that they can't even hold their own members accountable, let alone stand up to the government in any meaningful way. Their inability to acknowledge past mistakes and adapt accordingly not only weakens their position as an effective opposition but also erodes public trust in the political system as a whole.

Perhaps in time the Conservatives will become more moderate and leave the fake populism to figures like Farage, but it seems unlikely they'll ever stand to account for the damage they've done. This failure of accountability is a tragedy for our democracy. For the sake of a healthy political system, we need an opposition that can learn from its failures, offer genuine alternatives, and hold the government to account.

As it stands, the Conservative Party seems incapable of fulfilling this crucial role. Their leadership contest, far from being a platform for renewal and reflection, has become a symbol of their disconnect from the electorate. Until they can honestly confront the reasons for their defeat and offer a vision that resonates with the public, they risk remaining irrelevant in their role as the official opposition – a position that is far too important to be left effectively unfilled in these challenging times.

All the best,

The Open Britain Team
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