Penny Mordaunt passes Tory assessment but still needs local selection
Penny Mordaunt says she has passed the Conservative Party’s candidate assessment, despite reports that she had been blocked from standing again. The former defence secretary, who lost her Portsmouth North seat in 2024, says she supports the party’s direction under leader Kemi Badenoch and hopes to return to Parliament.
Committee approval does not guarantee a candidacy: Mordaunt must still be selected by a local association. She acknowledged she had not agreed with every party policy in the past, but said she now accepts its positions, including leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Badenoch has said prospective candidates must back leaving the ECHR and scrapping the 2050 net zero target.
- Mordaunt says she passed the Conservatives’ candidate assessment.
- She still needs a local association to select her.
- She says she supports the party’s current direction.
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Penny Mordaunt is a senior Conservative politician who served as defence secretary. She lost her Portsmouth North seat in the 2024 general election and is now trying to return to Parliament as a candidate for the party.
The Conservative Party requires prospective candidates to pass a formal assessment before they can seek selection in a constituency. Local Conservative associations then choose their own candidates from those who have passed this assessment, giving them final say over who stands for election.
The current Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has set specific policy requirements for prospective candidates. These include supporting withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights and abandoning the 2050 net zero target.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Penny Mordaunt allowed to stand for Conservatives at next election despite reports ex-defence secretary had been blocked”.