Grant Shapps today focused his leadership pitch to Tory MPs, writing to colleagues with proposals to assist them with their number one concern: keeping their seats. Amongst the highlights are the impressive sounding “campaign strike force” and a “Tory campaigning university”, with the intention being to provide innovation, insight and resources to candidates. Judging by the Transport Secretary’s TikTok output, deploying creative campaigning methods is clearly something in which he is well-versed…

With these promises, Shapps seems to be the lone candidate directly appealing to the interests of his immediate selectorate at this stage. Though Dudley South’s Mike Wood tells Guido “The last time Grant said he’d help me win an election I nearly ended up in prison.” Ouch.

Read Grant’s letter to Tory MPs in full below: