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When not competing to see who took the hardest drugs the contenders for the Tory crown are engaged in a far more dangerous form of oneupmanship.



It is inevitable that any race which requires winning the support of 300 or so Conservative MPs and 120,000 party members is going to see the candidates pander to the base.



Anyone who has spent time with Tory Party members will quickly appreciate they are not overly concerned about issues such as inter-generational fairness, welfare reform and the state of social housing.



They do, apparently, like to keep more of their wealth which is why there is dispiriting arms race among the contenders to see who can offer the most generous tax cuts.



Boris Johnson is the latest to join this Dutch auction by pledging to increase the threshold for the 40p rate to £80,000.

(Image: ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/REX)





(At the same time as promising Cayman Island levels of taxation they are also promising Finnish levels of public services.)



Not content with who can be the most economically right wing we are also witnessing a competition to see who can be the most socially conservative.



If it is not Dominic Raab questioning feminism it is Jeremy Hunt wanting to change the abortion laws.

Just as the Republican membership became contaminated by Tea Party fundamentalists so has the narrow Tory base become a home to those whose lodestar is a Daily Mail editorial from the 1950s.



If you want proof of how the zealots are taking over look at the attempt to deselect David Gauke, a moderate Tory whose only crime was to have voted three times for Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement.

(Image: REUTERS)





In the warped world of the modern Tory Party this was an act of disloyalty to the true cause which is pure Brexit.



This morning we will see a flurry of leadership launches by leading Conservative candidates.



They could speak to the country, offer solutions to social care, address the growing regional inequality or confront the crisis in manufacturing.



Or they can carry only talking to the elite few whose votes they need to secure power.

Today's agenda:



10am - Matt Hancock leadership launch.



11am - Jeremy Hunt leadership launch.



11am - Dominic Raab leadership launch.



2.30pm – Sajid Javid takes Home Office questions. This may feature references to narcotics.



2.50pm - Michael Gove leadership launch, by which time they may have decided the line to take.



4pm (approx) – Labour MP Grahame Morris leads backbench debate on the mineworkers’ pension scheme.



5pm – Nominations close in the Tory leadership race.



What I am reading:



Matthew d’Ancona on the Tories dangerous fixation with a hard Brexit