Tories were too focused on Reform to see Lib Dem threat, Theresa May says

Former PM says leadership candidates must understand that party lost election because it trashed our brand'

The Conservatives failed to see the threat from the Liberal Democrats" while focusing too much on the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, Theresa May has said.

Writing in the Times on the eve of the party's annual conference in Birmingham, Lady May said the remaining candidates for the Tory leadership could play into Reform's hands" by failing to understand the reasons behind their electoral humiliation.