Cleverly hits out at populist ‘fantasy' amid London mayor bid speculation
The former home secretary said calls to 'smash the system' and 'start again from scratch' were 'complete nonsense' in a speech making the case for greater accountability through realistic Whitehall reforms.
Sir James also declined to rule out a bid for City Hall or another run for the party leadership as he was questioned about his political future following his defeat in the contest to replace Rishi Sunak last year.
Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank on Tuesday, the senior backbencher called for greater accountability in politics by reducing the 'cloud of quangos' in the system.
Sir James said the 'go-to excuse for populist politicians' is to pretend 'difficult choices and trade-offs don't exist' and attack the Civil Service.
'I have lost count of the number of political gurus who said we should smash the system and start again from scratch,' he told the audience.
'Tempting though that may be, it is totally unrealistic, because all we need to do to deliver that is mobilise the alternative, anti-woke, right-wing civil service that's waiting in the wings to take things over when the Civil Service that we currently have is got rid of.
'Simple. It's also a fantasy. It's a complete nonsense. It's excuse-making, and it's weak.'
Instead, he said further action was needed to tackle the 'tangle of quangos, commissioners, panels advisory bodies, all making decisions, almost none of whom have been voted for, and none of whom can be voted out.'
Delighted to welcome @JamesCleverly to @IPPR – he is arguing for more honesty and more accountability in politics. https://t.co/tZuKPDA5GC pic.twitter.com/z4Z0T8ApqU
— Harry Quilter-Pinner (@harry_qp) July 15, 2025
He warned a 'disconnect between decision-making and accountability' introduces 'moral hazard' and 'erodes the very institutions upon which we rely'.
In a Q&A following the speech, the former Cabinet minister insisted he had 'reconciled' himself to his defeat at the leadership election and would not 'jump' into his next career move as he faced questions about his future.
Asked whether his plans entailed a bid for London mayor, another run for the Tory leadership or remaining on the back benches, he said: 'I like being in government.
'I don't like being in opposition, which is why I'm clear that I will play my part in helping to get Conservatives back into government, at every level of government.
'Exactly what I do next? I've forced a discipline on myself which is not to jump at something.
'I ran for leader. I didn't get it. I reconciled myself to that and I promised myself that I would spend some time thinking about exactly what I would do next.
'I know everyone will write into that 'Cleverly refuses to discount dot dot dot' – nothing I can do about that, you're going to write what you're going to write.
'But the simple fact of the matter is, I am focused on what I've always focused on, which is getting a Conservative government at every level to serve the British people, and that's my mission.'
He sought to strike an optimistic note about the future of the Conservative Party as it flounders in the polls, arguing it is 'the oldest and most successful political movement in human history' because 'we adapt, we evolve, we fight back'.
Sir James acknowledged opinion poll momentum for Reform posed a challenge for the Tories, but insisted Nigel Farage's party faced its own dilemma in seeking to be both 'new' and 'a repository for disgruntled former Conservatives'.
The rise of Reform is not unique to the UK, @JamesCleverly tells @harry_qp.
"'Smash the system' is an excuse, it's an easy way of ducking the problem" he says. pic.twitter.com/me59ht1guh
— IPPR (@IPPR) July 15, 2025
The senior Tory said: 'If their sales pitch is 'we're not like the old political parties', but they are mainly populated with people from my party, it's going to be really hard for them to reconcile that sales pitch.'
He hit out at former party members defecting to Reform, adding: 'I don't think it's smart. I don't think it's right.
'I think people lose credibility, particularly with people who have… very, very recently (stood as Conservatives) who then basically say 'the thing that made me realise I wasn't really a Tory was being booted out of office by the electorate'.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MPs call for sanctions over British man detained in Dubai for 17 years
MPs and peers have urged the Foreign Secretary to sanction those responsible for the detention of a British man in Dubai for the past 17 years. The group of 15 parliamentarians, led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said the case of Ryan Cornelius was a 'flagrant example of arbitrary detention and abuse of power' as they asked David Lammy to publicly call for his release. Mr Cornelius, now 71, was detained for 10 years in 2008 as part of a bank fraud case, and the detention was extended by 20 years in 2018. A UN working group has found he is subject to arbitrary detention and last week the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning his detention in 'inhumane conditions' and calling for his 'immediate and unconditional release'. After the European Parliament resolution, Sir Iain and his colleagues asked Mr Lammy to 'immediately clarify the Government's position on Mr Cornelius's case and confirm what steps you will now take to press for his release'. Specifically, they asked whether the Government would make 'strong representations to the UAE on his behalf', publicly call for his release and impose 'targeted' sanctions on those responsible for his detention. They said: 'The UK has a moral and legal duty to act, as well as a diplomatic responsibility to defend its citizens abroad from such mistreatment. 'We urge the Government to act with the utmost urgency to secure his release.' Sir Iain said it was 'vital' for the Government to take 'decisive action' to secure Mr Cornelius's release. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has previously said the Government would 'continue to highlight their concerns' in talks with the UAE and was providing Mr Cornelius with consular assistance, while it took reports of human rights violations 'very seriously'. But the UK's response to his detention has been criticised by Mr Cornelius's wife Heather and brother-in-law Chris Pagett. They said: 'For more than 17 years, we have had nothing but defensive waffle from the British Foreign Office. 'The European Parliament has made a strong and direct call to the UAE for Ryan's release within months of our taking his case to them. 'The contrast is shameful. The British people deserve better.' The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been approached for comment.
Bloomberg
25 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Ailbhe Rea: Rachel Reeves Boxes Herself In on Tax, Again
Back in opposition, Rachel Reeves was warned by Labour officials that if she ruled out increasing the three main revenue-raisers, so tight were the public finances that she would be storing up an enormous political headache for herself in government. But to Reeves, the trade-off was simple. She had seen Labour snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in 1992 when John Major attacked 'Labour's tax bombshell', and she had been in Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet on the crushing election night of 2015, when they realised that, despite polling to the contrary, Labour had lost again. Being boxed in on tax after winning an election? 'That would be a nice problem to have,' I'm told she said to colleagues.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
No commitment to scrap two-child benefit cap until funding is clear
The Government will not commit to lifting the two-child benefit cap until it is clear how it will be paid for, a minister has told the Commons. Further calls to scrap the controversial policy were made by Labour backbenchers on Tuesday, during a Conservative-led debate focused on retaining the cap. There were more than 1.6 million children living in households in England, Wales and Scotland affected by the two-child benefit limit in April, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions last week. Work and pensions minister Alison McGovern said the Child Poverty Task Force will look at 'all the levers across incomes, costs, debt and local support that we can pull to prevent poverty, including social security reform'. Speaking during the opposition day debate, she added: 'Our universal credit review is considering ways that the system can improve in order to stabilise family finances and provide routes into good work. 'And on the two-child limit, specifically, the consequences, as I've said in my speech, of the Conservative choices made over the past decade and a half are clear for all to see. 'We have rightly said many times we will not commit to any policy without knowing how we are going to pay for it.' Labour MP for Rochdale, Paul Waugh, said: '59% of families (who) have more than two children, on universal credit, are in work, and that's far from the feckless parent caricature that we've heard today from the Conservatives. 'And more importantly, does she agree with me that actually it's the children (who) should come first, and because the children should come first, we should urgently scrap the two-child cap as quickly as possible?' Ms McGovern declined to respond directly to Mr Waugh's question, instead arguing that the Conservative Party 'only wants to divide people'. Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth Brian Leishman also said 'the Government should lift it immediately', adding: 'Having a child is a blessing, not a blessing everyone receives, and the two-child cap is an inherently cruel policy that punishes the least advantaged. 'The idea that a third or a fourth or a fifth child is worth less than the first two is beyond wicked.' Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately had described the welfare bill as a 'ticking time bomb' as she opened the debate. She added: 'We have brought forward this debate today on the two-child limit, because somebody has to make the case for fiscal responsibility, for living within our means, for fairness, for making sure work pays, and for keeping the two-child cap.' MPs rejected the Conservatives' motion that the benefit cap should remain, with 106 voting in favour, 440 against, majority 334.
