Tory civil war erupts as Nadine Dorries rips into Kemi Badenoch with two-word verdict

A civil war appears to be erupting in the Conservative Tory party, over who will be the next leader of the .

In a brutal two-word verdict, has said she would be “deeply concerned” if took charge – and would be “ecstatic” if it was anyone but the former Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

Dorries, a after launching a  

She has now targetted Badenoch, who resigned from ’s government in July 2022 – accusing her of .

Instead, she voiced support for the three other canidates left in the race: , Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat.

Speaking at a drinks reception for think tank More in Common, Dorries said: “All three of them put the party first before their own self-interest. All three of them are , all three of them have proven they are grown-ups.

“All three of them tried to hold [the] government together. They didn’t And for me, loyalty to the government you’re elected to is the most important thing.

“There are three candidates I will be ecstatically happy if any one of those candidates becomes the in the future, because they are not confrontational.”

However, when it comes to Badenoch, Dorries minced no words. When asked about potentially leading the party, Dorries told “I’d be deeply concerned.

“I’d be concerned for the reasons that I just highlighted. I think you need to be non-confrontational.

“If you’re someone who plotted to remove a sitting prime minister, you should be automatically be disqualified. I think, frankly, the people who’ve had their hands on the levers of power need to be eradicated from the party.”

According to a new poll of party members, is the

The former immigration minister received 38.3 percent in the survey by the Right-wing Popular Conservatism group.

was second with 30.4 percent in the poll of 444 Tory members.

Centrist candidates , Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride took 5.2 percent, 3.8 percent and two percent respectively.