Tory deputy chair resigns to back Robert Jenrick in Conservative leadership race

Conservative Party deputy chair Matthew Vickers has resigned from his role in order to back Robert Jenrick in the Conservative Party leadership contests.

Mr Vickers also serves as shadow policing minister, but does not need to stand back from this role to declare his support for a candidate.

However, Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) is remaining neutral in the contest, which is why Mr Vickers is standing down from his role there.

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He was first appointed to the deputy chairmanship in 2022 but has decided to stand down as he believes it is important to declare his support for the Newark MP.

The decision was made after he a chaired a leadership hustings for northern Tory members.

All candidates except for Kemi Badenoch attended, as she was on holiday with her family.

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Mr Vickers said: “On Saturday, I chaired the northern hustings of the leadership contest.

“All the candidates were good, but Robert Jenrick was stand out. This process really matters – we have a mountain to climb and need a leader that can bring us back in one term. Having heard him up close, I firmly believe that that’s Robert.

“He had the clearest diagnosis of why we lost, and set out the most compelling vision for how we change, rebuild and win again.

“Of course, he is a strong communicator, but he crucially has the credibility we need to earn back the public’s trust.”

Mr Jenrick said: “It’s great to have the backing of such a well-respected Conservative campaigner and champion for levelling up in the North East.

“As we rebuild in opposition, we must return to our roots as a truly national party – of and for the entire country – mission-focussed on spreading opportunity to every corner of the UK.”

In previous leadership elections, Mr Vickers backed Rishi Sunak.

He is currently the MP for Stockton West, and was first elected to parliament in 2019 for the seat of Stockton South.

According to a poll of 805 Tory party members carried out between 2 August and 12 August, James Cleverly is the most popular candidate to be the next party leader, with 26% supporting him.

He was followed by Dame Priti Patel on 20%, Ms Badenoch on 14%, Tom Tugendhat on 11%, Robert Jenrick on 10% and Mel Stride on 4% in the poll from Techne UK.

However, previous surveys have thrown up other results – and a consensus on a favourite has not emerged.

The current slate of six candidates will be narrowed down through votes among Tory MPs at the start of next month, until just four remain.

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They will take part in a “beauty contest” at the Conservative Party conference between 29 September and 2 October, with MPs voting against to whittle the contest down to two.

At this point, the whole Conservative membership will vote on the head-to-head, with a final winner to be declared on 2 November.