Cringe live interview as wannabe Tory leader makes bizarre brag

A Tory leadership contender has suggested his party would have done worse at the General Election had he not done 25% of the TV and radio interviews during the campaign.

In a cringe radio interview, Mel Stride, who is vying to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative leader, was confronted about the frequency of his media appearances during the campaign. Critics questioned whether other senior Tories were deterred from defending the party on the frontlines because of its dire poll ratings and numerous crises.

The former Work and Pensions Secretary, who has thrown his hat in the race to replace Mr Sunak alongside Kemi Badenoch, Priti Patel, Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick, was confronted about having played a central role in the election campaign - which ended in a brutal defeat for his party.

Times Radio presenter Theo Usherwood told him: "You did more broadcast rounds during the General Election than any other Conservative frontbencher. And the Tories went and lost 250 seats. It's not exactly a glittering CV to put before the Conservative membership."

Mr Stride hit back: "So the result could actually, Theo, have been far worse. There are some polls that would have had us not on for 212." He continued: "You're right, I did about 25% of all the morning rounds during the general election. I was proud to have done that. And I hope that in my way, I made some difference. And if I had the opportunity to do it again, I would do it again."

The Tory MP said he had the "courage" and "motivation" to stand up and defend the Conservative Party. He added: "Why? Because I wanted to save as many Conservative seats as I possibly could. In fact, I won my own by a very small margin and against all the odds. There were many safer seats than mine that were lost."

Speaking about the launch of his Conservative leadership campaign, Mr Stride said he's the "right person for that task" and his party is "one of the greatest forces for good in the world". "I believe there are no rules left in politics. There is no reason why we cannot come back within a single term," he said.

"The reason why I believe that I'm the right person for that task is my background. I spent many years doing things outside Parliament, including building businesses from scratch, at my kitchen table, in the UK and also the United States.

"When I was Secretary of State at Work and Pensions, I drove fundamental reforms at the welfare system. That's the kind of experience I'm gonna bring to bear - building teams, getting people together for a common collective purpose. I believe in the Conservative Party. I think it's one of the greatest forces for good in the world."

The field for the leadership race will be narrowed down to four candidates by the Conservative parliamentary party. The contenders will then make their case at the Tory Party conference, which runs from September 29 to October 2. The final two, picked by the parliamentary party, will then go to a vote of party members in an online ballot that will close on October 31 with the result announced on November 2.