The Tory leadership candidates are all demanding change.
The government has left a ‘terrifying’ NHS backlog and ‘appalling’ ambulance times while the economy is driven into a recession, they say.
Just wait until they find out which party has been running the government for the last 12 years.
As sparks fly between the candidates, they have been throwing light on the mistakes, misjudgements and policy failures of more than a decade.
It’s little wonder Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out of the third TV leadership debate - given the impact it was having on the Tories’ reputation.
It’s not like frontrunners can claim to be outsiders. Liz Truss was a minister for decade, Penny Mordaunt was most of the time since 2014, and Rishi Sunak was the ambitious Chancellor.
Kemi Badenoch only entered Parliament in 2017, but was involved in Tory circles before then and has spent four years as a minister or Tory vice-chair.
Here are some of the most damning things they’ve said about their own government:
‘NHS backlog is terrifying’: Minister Kemi Badenoch told Channel 4 debate it was an “emergency” adding: "The backlog is terrifying.. I chipped my tooth several months ago, I haven't been able to get a dental appointment to fix it. I know how hard it is to get appointments at the moment, I see it in my constituency with people - not just dentists but GP appointments, not getting face-to-face appointments and not being able to get the treatment they need in hospital”.
‘Ambulance waiting times are appalling’: Liz Truss told Channel 4 debate: “We need to help patients in rural areas. I'm a rural MP, some of the ambulance waiting times in Norfolk are appalling."
‘People can’t see a GP or a dentist’: Penny Mordaunt told Channel 4 debate: “People can’t get to see a GP or a dentist when they want. They want the basics to run. That is part of restoring trust.”
‘Our policies are driving UK into recession’: Liz Truss told Rishi Sunak in ITV debate: “Under your plans, we are predicted to have a recession. Because you have raised tax it is cutting back on growth, it is preventing companies from investing, and it is taking money out of people’s pockets.”
‘Why should the public trust us?’: Kemi Badenoch told Channel 4 debate: “Why should the public trust us? We haven't exactly covered ourselves in glory, and it has on occasion looked like we were doing this for ourselves.”
‘We raised taxes to their highest in 70 years’: Liz Truss told Rishi Sunak in ITV debate: “Rishi, you raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years. That is not going to drive economic growth.”
‘We’ve had no plan for growth for two and a half years’: Liz Truss said in ITV debate: “If Rishi has got this great plan for growth, why haven’t we seen it in his last two and a half years at the Treasury?”
‘Vast Covid loan fraud could have been stopped’: Kemi Badenoch told Rishi Sunak in ITV debate: “When we both worked in the Treasury, myself and other ministers raised the issue of Covid loan fraud. You dismissed that and it’s cost taxpayers £17bn. Why didn't you take us seriously?” Mr Sunak insisted this was “absolutely not right”.
‘We prized loyalty over talent’: Kemi Badenoch told Channel 4 debate: “Loyalty was prized more [than talent]. Loyalty is a very important thing in politics - you can't have people that you can't trust around you - but I think sometimes there wasn't enough trust of colleagues who had good criticisms which were not listened to."
‘National Insurance hike broke pledge and wasn’t needed’: Liz Truss told Rishi Sunak in ITV debate: “You raised national insurance, even though people like me opposed it in cabinet at the time, because we could have afforded to fund the NHS through general taxation… I was so concerned about us breaking our manifesto on National Insurance because we committed to the British public that we would do it.”
‘What we’ve been doing is not good enough’: Penny Mordaunt said in ITV debate: “What we have to learn from this is that what we have been doing previously has not been good enough. We have to all reflect on the failings - I mean, not just the recent events with the Prime Minister - but why we haven’t been able to move at the pace that business and science demands. Why we haven’t been able to give businesses in our communities the opportunities they need.”
‘Social care policy still isn’t ready’: Three years after Boris Johnson said he had a ‘clear plan prepared’, Penny Mordaunt told Channel 4 debate: “The bit we haven’t really done on that policy, is work up that plan on social care. We haven’t even done the work with the insurance sector on which it is based.”
‘Housing problem is very, very worrying’: Liz Truss told ConservativeHome hustings: “I think it is very very worrying that people become older and older before they are able to afford their first home…and I think it is a problem for our country”. Kemi Badenoch added: “We have not been good at delivering the infrastructure for housing… things like GPs and schools.” Rishi Sunak admitted government has looked at ‘land banking’ “again and again”.
‘Brexit isn’t done’: Penny Mordaunt told BBC Sunday Morning: “All of us stood on a manifesto which we have yet to deliver, and we’ve also not fully delivered on the 2016 Referendum, we’ve not got that Brexit dividend back for people. That is what we need to do.”
‘We made too many damaging U-turns’: Kemi Badenoch told ConservativeHome hustings: “Having multiple U-turns as a government is incredibly damaging, and means people don’t know whether we say what we mean.”
And finally… ‘After 14 years, we’ll need to rebuild our economy’: Rishi Sunak - who until recently was Chancellor - told ConservativeHome hustings ahead of a 2024 election: “Having been in power for 14 years… we need to restore trust, rebuild our economy and reunite our country.”
