The majority of defeated Tory election candidates have said they will run again despite the party’s landslide loss.
Some 262 of 296 surveyed candidates who lost – around nine in ten – are leaning towards having another crack at the Commons in 2029 or have already decided to do so.
This includes 72 per cent of former MPs, and 95 per cent of candidates who have not held office before, Conservative Together found.
And Tory grandees have said the results indicate a renewed commitment to the party – now in its first spell in opposition since 2010, after it won just 121 seats last summer.
The Conservatives face a long road to rebuilding trust with voters, alongside increasing electoral threats from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on one side and the Liberal Democrats on the other.
But the Tories have closed the gap in national polls with Labour, suggesting a slight bounce back in voters under the leadership of Kemi Badenoch.
Conservative Together, set up by former Cabinet minister Grant Shapps and Lord Ross Kempsell to support Tory parliamentary candidates, has called for there to be an early selection ahead of 2029, with a particular focus on selecting those who have stood before.
Tory former cabinet minister Grant Shapps has called for there to be an early candidate selection ahead of 2029
Former leader of the house Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he would ‘love’ stand again as an MP
The Conservatives were forced to find 200 candidates to stand in unfilled constituencies in record time last May after Rishi Sunak called a snap election.
Mr Shapps, who narrowly lost his seat in July, said: ‘Just six months after the election disaster, candidates’ strong level of enthusiasm reflects their commitment and their readiness for early selection. We should avoid the scramble for seats that the party saw last June.’
Another ex-Tory MP defected to Reform last night. Former Dudley North MP Marco Longhi was unveiled by Nigel Farage as the party’s latest recruit ahead of a rally in Leicester. He follows a string of defections, including former education minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
