Tories make leadership pitches as Parliament returns

More candidates are launching their campaigns to be Conservative leader as Parliament returns from its summer break.

Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly - two of the six contenders - have both been making their pitches ahead of the first round of voting by Tory MPs on Wednesday, which will see one candidate knocked out.

Meanwhile, MPs will be back in the House of Commons, with ministers making statements on issues including the infected blood scandal and the situation in the Middle East.

There will also be a statement on the riots in England and Northern Ireland last month.

Later this week there will be votes on bills to bring rail operators into public ownership and support the creation of a new publicly owned energy company.

Legislation on "budget responsibility" - requiring the government's economic forecasters to assess every financial announcement in the future - will also return to the Commons.

Ministers have described the plans as "a fiscal lock" to avoid the economic instability that followed Liz Truss's mini-budget in September 2022, when independent forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility was sidelined.

In the coming weeks the government has promised a "packed" legislative programme, with bills expected on strengthening workers' rights and reforming the rental market.

Outside Parliament, shadow communities secretary Mrs Badenoch gave a speech arguing the Conservatives Party needs to "stop acting like Labour" to win back power.

Mr Cleverly also outlined his leadership bid, calling for the party to "think and act like Conservatives again", with a smaller role for the state and a focus on doing "fewer things very well, not everything badly".

The shadow home secretary said he wants to abolish stamp duty on all homes, saying it is stopping too many people getting on the housing ladder.

The tax is currently paid on purchases of homes for more than £250,000, or £425,000 for a first-time buyer.

On Tuesday, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat will also launch his campaign, with other leadership rivals Dame Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick and Mel Stride making speeches and pitches in the media in recent days.

They are currently aiming to secure the backing of fellow Tory MPs, who will whittle the field down to four candidates in a series of votes by the time of the party's annual conference at the end of September, before narrowing the field to two contenders.

Party members will then choose the winner from the final two, with the result announced on 2 November.

The new Parliamentary term comes after the Labour government has spent the summer painting a gloomy picture of the public finances, laying the ground for potential tax rises and spending cuts in October's Budget.

Privately, some Labour MPs fear the government has been too negative in its messaging over the summer.

Meanwhile, there has been a backlash from opposition parties and charities over the decision to remove Winter Fuel Payments for millions of pensioners not on pension credit.

Some Labour MPs have also raised concerns about the potential impact of the move on the less well-off and are expecting some mitigations to be announced in the coming weeks for those just above the pension credit threshold but still struggling.

There are signs that in the coming weeks ministers will seek to present a more positive message, focusing on promises to grow the economy and deliver changes on areas including housing, energy and the railways.