Senior Conservative Sir James Cleverly hit out at the “fantasy” of populist politics as he said the Tories should return to government “at every level” amid speculation he could run for the London mayoralty.
The former home secretary said calls to “smash the system” and “start again from scratch” were “complete nonsense” in a speech making the case for greater accountability through realistic Whitehall reforms.
Sir James also declined to explicitly rule out a bid for City Hall or another run for the party leadership as he was questioned about his political future following his defeat in the contest to replace Rishi Sunak last year.
But he said he had “reconciled” himself with the result of the 2024 Tory leadership race and said the party should stop “cycling through leaders”.
Appearing at the Institute For Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank on Tuesday, the senior backbencher called for greater accountability in politics by reducing the “cloud of quangos” in the system.
Sir James said the “go-to excuse for populist politicians” is to pretend “difficult choices and trade-offs don’t exist” and attack the Civil Service.
“I have lost count of the number of political gurus who said we should smash the system and start again from scratch,” he told the audience.
“Tempting though that may be, it is totally unrealistic, because all we need to do to deliver that is mobilise the alternative, anti-woke, right-wing civil service that’s waiting in the wings to take things over when the Civil Service that we currently have is got rid of.
“Simple. It’s also a fantasy. It’s a complete nonsense. It’s excuse-making, and it’s weak.”
Instead, he said further action was needed to tackle the “tangle of quangos, commissioners, panels advisory bodies, all making decisions, almost none of whom have been voted for, and none of whom can be voted out.”
Delighted to welcome @JamesCleverly to @IPPR - he is arguing for more honesty and more accountability in politics. https://t.co/tZuKPDA5GC pic.twitter.com/z4Z0T8ApqU
— Harry Quilter-Pinner (@harry_qp) July 15, 2025
He warned a “disconnect between decision-making and accountability” introduces “moral hazard” and “erodes the very institutions upon which we rely”.
In a Q&A following the speech, the former Cabinet minister insisted he had “reconciled” himself to his defeat at the leadership election and would not “jump” into his next career move as he faced questions about his future.
Asked whether he was eyeing a bid for London mayor, another run for the Tory leadership or planning to remain on the back benches, he said: “I like being in government.
“I don’t like being in opposition, which is why I’m clear that I will play my part in helping to get Conservatives back into government, at every level of government.
“Exactly what I do next? I’ve forced a discipline on myself which is not to jump at something.
“I ran for leader. I didn’t get it. I reconciled myself to that and I promised myself that I would spend some time thinking about exactly what I would do next.
“I know everyone will write into that ‘Cleverly refuses to discount dot dot dot’ – nothing I can do about that, you’re going to write what you’re going to write.
“But the simple fact of the matter is, I am focused on what I’ve always focused on, which is getting a Conservative government at every level to serve the British people, and that’s my mission.”
He sought to strike an optimistic note about the future of the Conservative Party as it flounders in the polls, arguing it is “the oldest and most successful political movement in human history” because “we adapt, we evolve, we fight back”.
Sir James acknowledged opinion poll momentum for Reform posed a challenge for the Tories, but insisted Nigel Farage’s party faced its own dilemma in seeking to be both “new” and “a repository for disgruntled former Conservatives”.
The rise of Reform is not unique to the UK, @JamesCleverly tells @harry_qp.
— IPPR (@IPPR) July 15, 2025
"'Smash the system' is an excuse, it's an easy way of ducking the problem" he says. pic.twitter.com/me59ht1guh
The senior Tory said: “If their sales pitch is ‘we’re not like the old political parties’, but they are mainly populated with people from my party, it’s going to be really hard for them to reconcile that sales pitch.”
He hit out at former party members defecting to Reform, adding: “I don’t think it’s smart. I don’t think it’s right.
“I think people lose credibility, particularly with people who have… very, very recently (stood as Conservatives) who then basically say ‘the thing that made me realise I wasn’t really a Tory was being booted out of office by the electorate’.”
Reflecting on his Tory leadership bid and whether he still harboured ambitions for the top job, he said: “We have got to get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us.”
