Tory MPs Bizarrely Present Themselves As The Party Of 'Change' In Plea To Voters

Danny Kruger and Steve Baker advocated for the Tories by suggesting they were the party of...change?
Danny Kruger and Steve Baker advocated for the Tories by suggesting they were the party of...change? ITV News/ BBC Newsnight

Two Tory MPs seem to have forgotten who has been in power for the last 14 years, as they both suggested their party is the one to fix the current state of the country.

PM Rishi Sunak fired the election starting gun on Wednesday, even though his party is trailing behind Labour by around 20 points in the opinion polls.

Keir Starmer’s party is leading his campaign by saying it is time for change.

So the Conservatives’ solution seems to be... doing the exact same thing?

On ITV News, backbencher Danny Kurger claimed the Tories offer “the change that’s needed”.

He said: “We’ve been in power for a long time and I recognise that people think it’s time for a change.

“Actually, we represent the change that’s needed.

“Labour represents more of the same. They might have different faces but they will be the ones carrying on the failed British state which has caused so many problems for our country.”

Meanwhile, when he spoke to BBC Newsnight last night, Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker said: “Do [voters] really want a man with no plan who’ll take us back to square one?”

“Surely square one is Liz Truss? Come on,” BBC host Victoria Derbyshire replied, referring back to the UK’s shortest-serving PM in history who crashed the economy last year.

Baker insisted: “Square one is going back to a government that really doesn’t know how to deal with the issues we’ve got.

“If we had a Labour government, do we really think they’d be facing up to the spending challenges of our age?”

Derbyshire cut in: “I’ve got to pause you there – spending is high, after 14 years of Conservative government.

“Debt is high and rising, the tax burden is the highest it’s been since World War 2, and projected to rise, and that’s under the Conservatives.”

With exasperation, she added: “That’s your government’s record. It’s like you want another five years to what, carry the trajectory upwards?”

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