"If they’re fighting with each other like rats in a sack instead of saying to the public ‘this is what we’re going to do for you’, that doesn’t win elections."
A senior Tory mayor has blamed Rishi Sunak for the current chaos engulfing the Conservative Party, just days after the Prime Minister had praised him.
Ben Houchen, Tory mayor for the Tees Valley, couldn’t contain his frustrations at his own party leader, amid constant infighting and said that Sunak was ultimately to blame.
Houchen said the Conservatives were “fighting like rats in a sack” and needed to urgently unite ahead of the general election. His re-election last week as the Tory party suffered the worst set of local election results for 40 years, was one of the few chinks of light for Sunak in what was a disastrous set of results.
Following Houchen’s win, Sunak praised him and said: “Ben has delivered more for this region in seven years than the Labour Party managed in 30 years.”
However, Houchen was less complimentary about his party leader. Speaking to BBC Radio Tees today, the mayor hit out at the in-fighting tearing the Tories apart.
Asked if the Prime Minister was to blame for all the divisions within the Tory party, Houchen replied: “Ultimately it always rests on the shoulders of the leader, all responsibility goes back to the top, it’s the same in my job as well.
“Ultimately, you’re the one responsible for it. But there are lots of people who are involved in the problems with the Conservative Party. It’s a bit of chaos at the minute, right, isn’t it?
“There’s lots of people fighting with each other in the Conservative Party, there are defections going on, and ultimately the public do not vote for parties who are not united and are not presenting a united front and also aren’t talking to the public.
“If they’re fighting with each other like rats in a sack instead of saying to the public ‘this is what we’re going to do for you’, that doesn’t win elections.
“Obviously, it ultimately lies with Rishi but there are lots of people that need to get their act together, stop messing about and start talking to the public about what they can offer them, rather than just fighting with each other.”
Bast Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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