Tories tussle over merchandise and ideology as six rivals fight over party leadership

Given the unpopularity of the Conservative party in the UK by the July 2024 general election, you’d be forgiven for lacking the courage to walk down the street in a t shirt bearing the name of one of the six hopefuls for party leadership.

No matter. Each of the contenders are flaunting their entrepreneurial flair by putting out merchandise to promote their particular brand of conservatism.

Screenshot: Kemi Badenoch website

The retail ranges from water bottles to tote bags, emblazoned with the names Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride.

Photo: screenshot Redbubble website

Kemi Badenoch’s sweatshirts (£35) and other goods, meanwhile, are emblazoned not with her name but with her campaign slogan: Renewal 20230, suggesting perhaps that even in this area she is ahead of the game.

Photo: screenshot Kemi Badenoch website

“People really care about it, they get very competitive about it,” one source involved in the contest told The Guardian. “I think Mel Stride is even giving out cakes and cookies. Priti has T-shirts, caps, tote bags.”

Robert Jenrick has even lost a few pounds, thanks to Ozempic, an appetite suppressant, in a bid to look more dynamic. “I took Ozempic for a short period of time, didn’t particularly enjoy it, but it was helpful,” he told Politico.

Jenrick is mainly remembered for his instruction as immigration minister to remove the cartoon murals in a reception center for child asylum seekers. They were, he said at the time, “too welcoming.”

But while the six are all gearing up for a showdown, each are doing so well away from each other to avoid a show of the bitter in-fighting the Conservative Party has become known for.

According to The Guardian, emails have been sent out from the party’s headquarters consisting of strict instructions about how to keep things as civil as possible.

In a bid to present a more united image and avoid “constant backbiting,” party officials told the six rivals that they will be handed “a yellow card” if they are deemed to be too aggressive in attacking each other’s agendas, reports the Daily Mail.

“I think the lesson from the election that came back on doorsteps is that most people thought we just hated each other. We have to avoid that and look responsible,” a party insider told The Guardian.

Although TV channels are pressing for live debates between what will be the remaining four candidates at the party conference in Birmingham at the end of October, organizers are trying to avoid these in case a bun fight breaks out in front of the cameras.

According to a YouGov poll, Kemi Badenoch will beat all five rivals, with 24% of the vote from her Tory colleagues. The winner will be revealed on November 2 after contenders have been whittled down to two.

The YouGov UK website says polls suggest that Tom Tugendhat will come second with 16%, then James Cleverly with 14%, Robert Jenrick with 12%, Priti Patel with 11% and Mel Stride with a mere 2%.

Badenoch is running on a ticket of truth telling. Writing in The Times, she pledged to start speaking “the truth again” on everything from controlling immigration to reforming public services.

Known for her clashes with the LGBTQ community, Badenoch claims that capitalism has become “a dirty word” and the Tory party must reclaim it.

But accusations of bullying could derail Badenoch’s chances of replacing Rishi Sunak as leader of the opposition, according to The Mail, and perhaps too the success of her merchandise which would then have a shorter shelf life than expected.

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Photo: screenshot Kemi Badenoch website