Tory Party chair Richard Holden has made clear his his frustration with his warring Conservative colleagues in a revealing TV interview.
In a moment when the ITV camera crew were filming cutaway shots, Holden was asked how he felt about the other Tory MPs who have called for PM Rishi Sunak to step down or who have called for the party to change direction.
The party chairman said this was “always frustrating”.
“People are always going to have different opinions,” he said. “Usually, it’s best for those opinions to be expressed with other colleagues in the most constructive manner possible, and I’m not sure all colleagues have always done that.”
ITV News’ political correspondent Tom Sheldrick then interrupted Holden to remind him, “your microphone’s on for this”.
Holden went on: “All colleagues want the same outcomes,” referring to migration and economic policies.
“The truth is there will always be slight disagreements about how to get there. It’s always important for all colleagues to remember what unites us, which are those fundamental things.”
Watch the exchange here:
Elsewhere in the interview, Holden – MP for North West Durham – furiously defended his loyalty to the North East region.
But he refused to say why he is not standing in any of the four local constituencies his current seat will be split into after the boundary review.
Sheldrick said: “It’s about you trying to find a safer seat, isn’t it, somewhere else in the country for yourself, rather than being loyal to the North East?”
Holden then energetically jabbed a map of the region and said: “No, I am bloody loyal to the North East, Tom.
“I care about this constituency. I fought for them every day since 2019.
“They’ve never had constituency MP who works harder. I’m up there still, even doing this [party chair] job, every week, working seven days a week, for the people of North West Durham, and I’m going to continue right to the day of the next general election.”
More than 50 Conservative MPs have already announced that they will not be standing at the next general election in a mass exodus.