Three quarters of former Conservative MPs who lost their seats at the last election are poised to attempt a comeback, new research suggests.
According to a survey by the Conservatives Together group — a network headed by Grant Shapps, the former defence secretary — only 10 of 88 ex-Tory MPs polled ruled out standing again. A further 38 said they would “definitely” run, while 25 indicated they were “leaning towards” a renewed campaign for office.
Among those considering a return are prominent former MPs Penny Mordaunt, who remains on the party’s candidate list, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said he was “thinking very strongly” about re-entering parliament. Sir Nick Gibb, Sir Ranil Jayawardena and Sir Marcus Jones — all of whom lost their seats — each received knighthoods in the new year’s honours list.
Shapps, who lost the constituency of Welwyn Hatfield and is now leading Conservatives Together, said he had not ruled out a comeback. “It’s hard to sit on the sidelines and not feel that pull,” he noted, adding that any decision would ultimately “depend on the voters”.
Conservatives Together is modelled on Labour Together, a group previously run by Morgan McSweeney, now the prime minister’s chief of staff. It combines training for would-be Conservative MPs with local polling analysis to feed into party strategy. Early research suggests Labour remains the Tories’ main challenger, with Reform UK acting more as a “vote splitter” than a serious rival.
A recent report from Conservatives Together criticised the party’s use of social media during the previous campaign, accusing it of “stupidity” for neglecting TikTok and failing to appeal to younger voters. Shapps said the decision to call the election on 4 July last year was taken “without understanding, consultation, warning or sufficient preparation,” adding that the resulting vacuum allowed Reform to outperform the Tories on key digital platforms.
Lord Kempsell, who co-leads the group with Shapps, warned that Conservative support now skews significantly older, with the average likely Tory voter aged 63, compared with a much younger profile in 2019. To help rebuild, he believes the party must “master social media, not just dabble in it,” if it hopes to connect with a broader swathe of the electorate.
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Three quarters of ousted Tory MPs eyeing a return to Westminster