THE Conservatives must end their infighting if they are to have any hope of winning the next election

THE Conservatives must end their infighting if they are to have any hope of winning the next election, a Tory MP has said.

Paul Maynard told GB News: “We haven’t seen the greatest performance for our party in the recent local election. I think I would say to those who are doubters, that now is not the time for the party to fall into infighting.

“We’re demonstrating our competence as a government. No one could doubt the Prime Minister is a good man trying to do his best in a difficult job. No one would ever suggest otherwise, in my view. But the party has to focus on the future.”

Speaking to Gloria De Piero, Mr Maynard, the MP for Blackpool and Cleveleys, continued: “I think we need to see more vision, more of a positive reason to vote Conservative. That’s why I want those from the previous regimes to feel they can play a role. I have some sympathy with some of the ideological positions. I want to see a different approach to house building, but it has to be one that creates consensus rather than division, trying to prove a point. So give us your ideas, work within the mainstream of the party, and then I think we can deliver a much more powerful vision for the future.”

Meanwhile Mr Maynard, who lives with cerebral palsy has also opened up about how the condition impacts his life.

Explaining how the illness affects his speech he said: “It’s affected my voice box, particularly strangulating my voice. What I hear inside me sounds perfectly comprehensible but I watch myself on TV and I’m absolutely horrified. So I know I’ve got to be a little clearer with my diction and how I speak.”

Recalling abuse he recently suffered he continued: “I was coming to Westminster this week, walking through the streets of Preston on the way to the station, and two blokes were standing on the street laughing at me and pointing. You know, it still goes on to this day because people simply don’t understand. It’s part ignorance, part jealousy in some way. There’s a sense of ‘how dare he do this job and I could do it better’, sort of attitude, but it still goes on. You just have to carry on.

“I always get a little concerned when people tell me that I’m a role model for them, because I’m not a role model for anyone.

“I knew that I had to prove myself and maybe that’s what motivates me even now, after 13 years in Westminster. I still feel I’m having to prove myself and the reason I’m there. You can’t reach into someone’s brain and flick a switch. I think really it’s my behaviour, it’s how I deal with things and how I present myself that changes attitudes.”

THE FULL INTERVIEW WILL BROADCAST THIS SUNDAY ON GB NEWS FROM 6PM