Greg Smith, Buckingham MP and one of his sponsors, said: “I hope candidates fishing in the same pool will gather around him like the biggest beast.”
Laurence Robertson, a Tewkesbury MP and another sponsor, said: “I think Priti has a longer and wider experience and that’s very important.”
In an attempt to bolster support, Ms. Patel addressed about 20 ERG members to Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader’s common office for about 45 minutes, saying she could only be trusted. to comply with Brexit.
An ERG source said Ms Patel “was well received” as one of 28 Spartan Conservative MPs who voted against all three iterations of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Another told The Telegraph, “She’s on the same page. Everyone agreed with her. She was well received.”
Breaking with the “Treasure Orthodoxy”
He told the ERG that the country was “frankly in a hellish hole” of soaring inflation. “Everyone will remember what the 1970s was like,” he said. “No one in the party has clung to that and it should be our party’s priority.”
He said the next prime minister must break with the “Treasury orthodoxy”, deregulate and reduce taxes while investigating other candidates to adopt “trendy” tax cuts.
“We need to make sure that the tax cuts have hit people’s pockets for the next election,” he told the ERG. “When it comes to the trend-cutting line of taxes, we’re all conservative and we believe in reducing taxes.”
The Home Secretary pledged to “decompress” green rates on energy bills, insisting the party must be “bold” when it comes to future energy sources, saying: “We have absolutely failed with fracking and shale gas “.
Patel claimed he was the only cabinet member who pledged to break the Northern Ireland bill months before it became government policy. He said the party must “have the courage of its convictions” and not “give in” to the EU.
He told the ERG that she was the best candidate to win the “hearts and minds of the party” and help bring back activists who had refused to run in the by-elections. He said he could mobilize the base and make the necessary changes to make the party a success.
Sunak in a sigh
Mr. Sunak had a harder trip with the ERG. A source said the former chancellor was “angry” when Brexiteer supporters began asking him about other issues. He said, “I thought it was Brexit” and left pretty quickly.
On Monday, an ally of Ms Patel admitted to sharing a “dirty dossier” sent to conservative WhatsApp groups calling Rishi Sunak a liar who cannot be trusted with taxes.
Patrick Robertson is believed to be helping to mount Patel’s campaign to become a Conservative leader.