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Lord Patten took aim at Nigel Farage as he faced questions over the future of the Conservative Party on The News Agents podcast, describing him as the “saloon bar bore”.
Six senior Tories will battle it out to replace Rishi Sunak as the Conservative Party seeks to rebuild after its worst-ever general election result.
Shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch is the early favourite with bookmakers, while former immigration minister Robert Jenrick looks to challenge her on the Tory right.
Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat and shadow home secretary James Cleverly look set to compete for votes from centrist Conservatives.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel and shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride complete the field of candidates who received the support of 10 MPs in order to enter the race.
Commenting on the race to become the next Tory leader, Lord Patten said he felt uninspired by any of the candidates on the list after Tugenhadt dabbled with the idea of leaving the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
He also cautioned about moving further to the right and attracting political figures such as Nigel Farage, saying he has done “more damage to this country than almost anyone else I can think of”.
“He led the initial campaign to get us out of the European Union and that’s taken at least 5 per cent off our GDP.
“I can’t understand how he can appeal to Conservatives.
“He’s this saloon bar bore.
“The economic policy of Reform is pretty much Liz Truss, their foreign policy is pretty much Jeremy Corbyn, and for the rest it is Tommy Robinson in a cravatte.”
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