Conservatives face leadership “bloodbath” as party seeks new direction

The recriminations and jostling for top positions among Britain’s Conservative lawmakers began long before Thursday’s crushing election defeat to Labour that some party figures said left the party facing the prospect of a decade out of power.

After 14 years in government – the last eight marked by chaos and divisions following the Brexit vote – the Conservatives are now confronted by an internal struggle among lawmakers, grassroots members and donors over whether to move further to the right or turn back to the centre.