Why the former Pudsey Conservative Association chairman believes the Tories need a clean break from Boris Johnson

Dr Jason Aldiss quit the Conservatives following Mr Johnson’s election as leader back in 2019.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, he said: “I left because I knew that Boris Johnson was not going to be a suitable leader for our party and certainly not for our country.

“He was palpably dishonest and was not a fit and proper person to lead our country through what has subsequently proven to be a very challenging period.”

Dr Aldiss now says he is looking to rejoin the party following Boris Johnson’s exit as leader and PM.

The former chairman of the Pudsey Conservative Association believes that Mr Johnson’s premiership has “done enormous damage to the image of the party”.

“I’m worried that the new Prime Minister will be a continuity Prime Minister,” Dr Aldiss added. “What we need is a complete break from pantomime politics.”

While he won’t be able to vote in the upcoming leadership election, Dr Aldiss is backing former chancellor Rishi Sunak.

“I believe his economic policies are the most coherent,” Dr Aldiss said.

He added: “I don’t believe Liz Truss’s economic policies are the right ones for the country, given the situation that we’re currently in.

“I will be supporting Rishi. Unfortunately, I can’t vote for him but I will be doing everything I can to support him.”

Dr Aldiss first joined the party in 1995. He helped wrestle control of Leeds City Council from Labour in 2004.

The former senior Tory has been a strong voice against Brexit and wants Britain to adopt a more liberal approach to immigration in order to deal with labour shortages. Even urging people to vote Labour in the 2019 General Election in a bid to thwart Brexit.

He said: “I do believe that everything I said would come true, has come true. The immigration arrangements are putting huge inflationary pressures on the economy.

“We’ve got significant underemployment in certain areas of the economy. There’s lots of industries that are struggling to find people to work. This country has always done better by having an open and free immigration policy.”

Dr Aldiss does not feel divisions within the party over Brexit will be bridged until Britain rejoins the European Union.

When asked if he could co-exist with pro-Brexit members of the Tory party, Dr Aldiss said that there was “more to life than Brexit”.

He added: “We have a huge economic crisis facing us across the country. Institutionally, the country is on its knees.

“We’ve got industries that are struggling to recruit staff. We’ve got a cost of living crisis. We’ve got an international crisis facing us.”

‘Vital to deliver on Levelling Up’

The former senior Tory believes that it is hugely important that the Government delivers on its Levelling Up promises.

Dr Jason Aldiss said not enough had been done to bridge the North-South divide but poured cold water on Liz Truss’ proposals for Levelling Up, labelling her economic plans “incoherent”.

“If we’re looking at tax cuts and economic agenda, I don’t see where the money is going to come from so that she can actually invest in the infrastructure that we need,” he said. While he is “not a fan of HS2”, Dr Aldiss believes existing infrastructure needs to be properly invested in including links between Leeds and Manchester.