This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Chas Geiger & Joanna MorrisBBC News Rishi Sunak bears ultimate responsibility for a Conservative Party mired in “chaos”, Ben Houchen has said. The newly re-elected Tees Valley mayor said “lots of” Tories were “fighting each other like rats in a sack” and the blame “ultimately lies with Rishi”.His comments will come as a blow to the prime minister, still reeling from disastrous local election results.He had hailed Lord Houchen’s victory as a sign the Tories could still win the general election. The Conservatives lost 474 council seats, the Blackpool South by-election and the West Midlands mayoral race.Mr Sunak’s woes deepened on Wednesday with the surprise defection of Dover MP Natalie Elphicke to Labour in protest at his record on housing and stopping small boat crossings. Ben Houchen re-elected Tees Valley MayorTories see big losses in last pre-general election testChris Mason: A defection barely anyone saw comingAsked if the prime minister was to blame for the Conservatives’ problems, Lord Houchen told BBC Radio Tees: “Ultimately it always rests on the shoulders of the leader, all responsibility goes back to the top, it’s the same in my job as well. “Ultimately, you’re the one responsible for it. But there are lots of people who are involved in the problems with the Conservative Party. It’s a bit of chaos at the minute, right, isn’t it?Reuters”There’s lots of people fighting with each other in the Conservative Party, there are defections going on, and ultimately the public do not vote for parties who are not united and are not presenting a united front and also aren’t talking to the public.”If they’re fighting with each other like rats in a sack instead of saying to the public ‘this is what we’re going to do for you’, that doesn’t win elections.”Obviously, it ultimately lies with Rishi but there are lots of people that need to get their act together, stop messing about and start talking to the public about what they can offer them, rather than just fighting with each other,” Lord Houchen added. There was a general disillusionment with politics at the moment rather than a desire to vote Labour, but the “way through is getting narrower by the day”, he warned. “If the government actually got on and delivered some real things and showed themselves to be competent… then there is a way through to be able to get some of that respect back, some of that confidence back from the public, and to help reduce what is a very large gap at the minute,” he said. Mr Sunak travelled to Darlington last Friday to celebrate Lord Houchen’s re-election, saying it was evidence of “the Conservatives delivering” and “levelling-up in action”.Hospital fight The prime minister said the people of Teesside “knew it was Ben and the Conservatives that delivered for them and they stuck with you at this election. And I know that come the general election, they’re going to stick with us too.”Lord Houchen thanked Mr Sunak for his support, saying: “I could not have delivered the things we’ve delivered in this region without you, prime minister.”Labour said Lord Houchen had run his campaign as a “pseudo-independent” by not branding himself as a Conser …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Chas Geiger & Joanna MorrisBBC News Rishi Sunak bears ultimate responsibility for a Conservative Party mired in “chaos”, Ben Houchen has said. The newly re-elected Tees Valley mayor said “lots of” Tories were “fighting each other like rats in a sack” and the blame “ultimately lies with Rishi”.His comments will come as a blow to the prime minister, still reeling from disastrous local election results.He had hailed Lord Houchen’s victory as a sign the Tories could still win the general election. The Conservatives lost 474 council seats, the Blackpool South by-election and the West Midlands mayoral race.Mr Sunak’s woes deepened on Wednesday with the surprise defection of Dover MP Natalie Elphicke to Labour in protest at his record on housing and stopping small boat crossings. Ben Houchen re-elected Tees Valley MayorTories see big losses in last pre-general election testChris Mason: A defection barely anyone saw comingAsked if the prime minister was to blame for the Conservatives’ problems, Lord Houchen told BBC Radio Tees: “Ultimately it always rests on the shoulders of the leader, all responsibility goes back to the top, it’s the same in my job as well. “Ultimately, you’re the one responsible for it. But there are lots of people who are involved in the problems with the Conservative Party. It’s a bit of chaos at the minute, right, isn’t it?Reuters”There’s lots of people fighting with each other in the Conservative Party, there are defections going on, and ultimately the public do not vote for parties who are not united and are not presenting a united front and also aren’t talking to the public.”If they’re fighting with each other like rats in a sack instead of saying to the public ‘this is what we’re going to do for you’, that doesn’t win elections.”Obviously, it ultimately lies with Rishi but there are lots of people that need to get their act together, stop messing about and start talking to the public about what they can offer them, rather than just fighting with each other,” Lord Houchen added. There was a general disillusionment with politics at the moment rather than a desire to vote Labour, but the “way through is getting narrower by the day”, he warned. “If the government actually got on and delivered some real things and showed themselves to be competent… then there is a way through to be able to get some of that respect back, some of that confidence back from the public, and to help reduce what is a very large gap at the minute,” he said. Mr Sunak travelled to Darlington last Friday to celebrate Lord Houchen’s re-election, saying it was evidence of “the Conservatives delivering” and “levelling-up in action”.Hospital fight The prime minister said the people of Teesside “knew it was Ben and the Conservatives that delivered for them and they stuck with you at this election. And I know that come the general election, they’re going to stick with us too.”Lord Houchen thanked Mr Sunak for his support, saying: “I could not have delivered the things we’ve delivered in this region without you, prime minister.”Labour said Lord Houchen had run his campaign as a “pseudo-independent” by not branding himself as a Conser …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
