Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told the BBC she leads “a brand new party full of new people” – after it emerged in the Spectator, external that the former cabinet minister and Tory party chairman Sir Grant Shapps has been rejected as a Conservative Party parliamentary candidate.
Sir Grant, who has declined to comment, served in nine ministerial roles in government as well as co-chairing the party.
In cabinet, he served as home secretary, defence secretary, transport secretary, business secretary, energy secretary and net zero secretary.
He was also a Foreign Office Minister, housing minister and international development minister, external.
He lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat to Labour’s Andrew Lewin in 2024 by 3,799 votes after representing it since 2005.
But his application to stand again for the Conservatives at the next general election has been declined.
One party source told the BBC “it reflects badly on Kemi’s temperament. North Korean purges don’t work in British politics”.
Badenoch told a news conference in central London: “We don’t treat our former MPs or our candidates like tittle-tattle for Westminster gossip.
“What I will say is that we’re going to be announcing candidates shortly, and you will see that this is a very different party from the one that was removed from government in 2024.”
