Now the Tory post-mortem begins in earnest: Ex-ministers claim Britain is still 'instinctively Conservative' but say party failed to deliver on migration, tax, and NHS amid anger at 'idiotic' Rishi... but leadership hopefuls are yet to declare their hand

The Tory post-mortem into the party's devastating election defeat began in earnest today as ex-ministers admitted they failed to deliver during 14 years in power.

A slew of senior Conservatives led the inquiry into the crushing loss that saw Sir Keir Starmer's Labour storm to a massive landslide victory on Thursday night.

Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, this morning delivered his 'painfully honest' assessment of what went wrong for the Tories.

Ahead of what is set to be a bitter internal battle between various factions over the coming weeks, he claimed the party was neither 'too left-wing or right-wing'.

But Mr Jenrick acknowledged Tory governments 'failed to deliver on the promises we made to the British public' on immigration, tax and the NHS.

Victoria Atkins, who was health secretary until last week, claimed Britain was still 'instinctively Conservative' but suggested her party had lost the trust of voters.

She said Labour's support across the country was 'spread very thinly a little bit like margarine' as she vowed the Tories would 'rebuild' from their worst-ever result.

In a more brutal verdict on the Conservatives' election campaign, former home secretary Suella Braverman was scathing of Rishi Sunak's 'idiotic strategy'.

Ms Braverman, Ms Atkins and Mr Jenrick are all expected to be among those bidding to replace Mr Sunak after the former PM announced his plan to quit as party leader.

But none have yet to formally confirm they will stand in the upcoming Tory contest.

Ex-chancellor Nadhim Zahawi warned the biggest challenge facing an incoming Conservative leader would be re-uniting the party in the wake of the huge loss.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show this morning, Mr Jenrick acknowledged the Tories lost heavily because they 'failed to deliver' on key pledges.

'The reason we lost the trust of millions of people across the country is not because we were too left-wing or right-wing or had this slogan or that slogan,' he said. 

'But fundamentally because we failed to deliver on the promises we made to the British public.

'In 2019 we promised we would get Brexit done and that we would deliver a strong economy, a strong NHS and secure borders.

'And although there are many things that I'll fiercely defend about the record of our party in government – and we did get Brexit done.

'We did not deliver the level of growth and taxation that Conservatives expect, the quality of service in the NHS that the public need.

'And, above all, the secure borders and controlled and reduced migration that we promised and that we need to deliver.'

Mr Jenrick - once dubbed 'Robert Generic' by critics - refused to say if he would seek to replace Mr Sunak as party leader, despite his appearance on the prime BBC slot.

He said: 'I honestly don't think that three days on from the general election, in which we've just lost so many of our friends and colleagues, that it is right to have self-indulgent conversations like this.

Pressed further, Mr Jenrick declined to talk about his own leadership ambitions before saying: 'The first step for the party is to have a proper honest diagnosis about what's gone wrong.'

He supported a longer contest to choose a new leader, despite a push by some Tories for Mr Sunak's successor to be installed swiftly.

'I would support a longer campaign,' Mr Jenrick said. 'I think we as a party have to think very carefully about what's happened.' 

Ms Atkins also did not rule out standing in the leadership race during an appearance on the same programme - but said it was not yet time for candidates to declare.

'This weekend is not about leadership,' she said.

'The absolute focus at the moment, and the reason I came on today, was genuinely not to talk about leadership because this is not the moment for this.

'We need to show the public that we understand they have sent us some very, very loud messages, that we are listening, that we are reflecting and then we as a party need to get together and unite and work out what we want for the future.'

Quizzed on what had gone wrong for the Tories, Ms Atkins said: 'For me, one of the messages - and please don't think I'm trying to turn away from the very loud, clear  messages to us as a party.

'But I do observe that the support for the Labour Party in this election has spread very thinly - a little bit like margarine.

'And so I think there's a real opportunity for us as a party - once we have reflected, once we have absolutely taken on board those lessons and acted on them - I think there's a real job for us to do to rebuild our party and we will do that, we will get there.'

Ms Atkins was challenged over her claim that Britain is 'instinctively Conservative' in the wake of Labour winning a 174-seat majority in the House of Commons.

'In terms of their values, their instincts, they are - I believe - still instinctively Conservative,' she said .

'They want lower taxes, they want build a better future for their children, they want us to help them thrive in their personal lives and their livelihoods.' 

In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Braverman agreed with suggestions that voters hadn't chosen Labour but had instead turned against the Conservatives.

In scathing critique of the Tory campaign, she wrote: 'People didn't choose Labour, they rejected us. That is the simple truth.

'Labour polled three million fewer votes than they did under Jeremy Corbyn in 2017.  Labour's Ming-vase strategy of 'don't move, don't speak, don't blink' worked.

'But only because it faced our idiotic strategy of intermittently and inconsistently making 'Tory Right' noises – which disintegrated when set against our liberal Conservative record.

'I say again, whatever some of my colleagues think, the voters aren't mugs: they saw what we did in office and ignored what we insincerely said while campaigning.'

Ms Braverman pointed to 'high taxes' and 'high immigration' as among the Conservatives' broken promises.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Zahawi said 'the biggest challenge is unity' for the next Tory leader ahead of what could be another divisive leadership contest.

The former MP, who did not stand in the election, admitted the result for the Tories was 'pretty catastrophic' but said the party still had 'some serious talent' in Parliament.

Asked who he would like to see as the new party leader, Mr Zahawi said: 'At this stage, I think the most important thing, whoever comes forward, is they come up with a plan of how to unite the party, (to) bring us back together.

'I think the biggest challenge for us is unity, and I think that the lesson – if we haven't learnt it yet then we really will be in trouble – is that we have to present a united front to the country.

'Rishi suffered badly in the campaign because there were voices from his own party coming out against (him).'

Mr Zahawi said the electorate had reacted with their votes after the Conservatives' had 'formed a circular firing squad'.