Labour is a disappointment and does not have a vision for the country, says James Cleverly

Georgia Pearce

By Georgia Pearce


Published: 29/09/2024

- 09:35

The Labour government has been a disappointment and lacks a vision for the country, according to Tory Party leadership contender James Cleverly.

He told GB News: “They have been such a disappointment and the lesson we need to take from that is that they went into this general election trying to say as little as possible.

“They made no commitments, they didn't have a vision, they don't have a philosophy, they don't have an ethos, and therefore they're lost in government, and their behaviour is hypocritical.

“If Wes Streeting is genuinely able to reform the National Health Service, I think that's something we should look at. If they are able to drive welfare reform, that's something we should look at.

“But the fact is, I really struggle. I will look closely, but at the moment, they have just been such a massive disappointment.”

Asked what the most Conservative thing the previous government did, he said: “One of the things that that I'm most proud of, that I did, working very closely with Ben Wallace, we persuaded NATO ally countries to follow suit when we donated main battle tanks to Ukraine in its self-defence against Russia.

“I’m very, very pleased that we were the first country to donate anti-tank missile systems, those NLAW missile systems to Ukraine.

“I know the last few years been very difficult, but there is much that I'm very, very proud of that we did...

“As leader of the Conservative Party and as a future Prime Minister, that's the kind of thing I’d emulate. Okay, doing what is right, not just what is easy, standing up for peace through strength, rather than just crossing your fingers and hoping.”

On the General Election loss, he said: “We've got to recognise that the British people kicked us out for a reason, and they kicked us out because of the gulf between what we said and what we did. We need to promise less, but deliver on everything we promise.

“And we need to make sure that in the areas where we do still run stuff, whether it be on the Tees Valley or county councils or district councils, that we deliver well, which is why the integration between Westminster and our local government base is so important.

“How we run our own party is absolutely key. If we act professionally within the party, people will have confidence that the party will act professionally when we get back in.”

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