Tory MP: Liz Truss and Boris Johnson caused loss

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown in Bourton on the Water. He has grey hair and is wearing a blue suit jacket.
Image caption,

Sir Geoffrey believes Liz Truss was a "big part" in the downfall of the conservatives

  • Published

A Conservative MP says he has "no doubt" Liz Truss and Boris Johnson's time as prime ministers made Rishi Sunak's life "extremely difficult".

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for the North Cotswolds, is one of many Conservatives at the party's conference in Birmingham.

Speaking to BBC Points West, he reflected on why the Tories have lost the election.

"The various shenanigans with Boris Johnson was going to make life extremely difficult for Rishi Sunak," he said.

"We need to work out what went wrong, we need to be humble about it and there are a number of things," Sir Geoffrey added.

"All the sleaze, they [the people] just got into a mood that they wanted to get rid of us."

He added that he believes Liz Truss was a "big part" in the downfall of the Conservatives.

He said the public lost confidence in the Tories on economic management, after Truss' term.

Danny Kruger, Tory MP for East Wiltshire, said the reason the Tories lost MPs in Wiltshire was because they "didn't deliver on those key promises, the economy, the NHS, and immigration".

He added: "For me it's about who has the credibility and the clear plan to deliver and the confidence to do that and I think if we can present those things, then people who left us to the Lib Dems or Reform will come back to us."

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