Robert Jenrick is the third Tory MP to announce his bid to become the next leader of the Conservative party after Tom Tugendhat submitted his papers.
The two contenders will challenge James Cleverly and other MPs hoping to replace the outgoing Rishi Sunak after the election defeat.
Mr Tugendhat, seen as a candidate from the moderate wing of the party, indicated he would be prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if needed to regain control of UK borders.
Shadow home secretary Mr Cleverly is currently leading the leadership race with three endorsements from Tory MPs, including Gagan Mohindra, Peter Fortune and Simon Hoare.
Kemi Badenoch could be throwing her hat in the ring soon after her leadership website was spotted under maintenance.
Other former cabinet ministers expected to announce their bids include Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Suella Braverman.
The Conservative Party will appoint a new leader on 2 November and contenders have until Monday to win the support of the 10 MPs they need to make it onto the ballot paper.
Key Points
- Kemi Badenoch 'prepares’ to announce leadership bid
- Robert Jenrick to run for Tory leader
- Cleverly leads race with three MP endorsements
- Tom Tugendhat joins race for Tory party leadership
- Next Tory leader urged to win back Reform voters
- Tugendhat denies ‘political opportunism’ over ECHR approach
Mel Stride attacks Labour’s ‘fantasy narrative’ on Tory legacy
12:35
Salma Ouaguira
The former minister has hit out at Labour after the party accused the Tories of leaving a challenging government behind.
Mr Stride said: “More evidence the economy is heading in a positive direction, while Labour continue to talk it down to fit their own fantasy narrative.
“They have inherited the fastest growing economy in the G7, we can’t let them get away with claiming otherwise.”
The Tory MP is expected to announce his leadership bid today as three candidates threw their hats in the ring.
Tory leadership timeline
12:30
Salma Ouaguira
Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick wins two backers
12:21
Salma Ouaguira
The former immigration secretary has now received the backing of two Tory MPs.
MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham Caroline Johnson has announced she is supporting his leadership bid.
In a tweet, she said: “Pleased to nominate Rob Jenrick to lead the Conservative Party. Rob has sound Conservative principles and the temperament and attributes to be a great leader.”
It comes as Tory MP Danny Kruger, who is Mr Jenrick’s campaign manager, claimed the leader hopeful can “bring our party together”.
Pleased to nominate Rob Jenrick to lead the Conservative Party.
— Dr Caroline Johnson MP (@drcarolinej) July 25, 2024
Rob has sound Conservative principles and the temperament and attributes to be a great leader. pic.twitter.com/BYIdURXiLv
Tory MP Gagan Mohindra backs James Cleverly for leader
12:10
Salma Ouaguira
MP for South West Hertfordshire Gagan Mohindra has announced he is backing James Cleverly.
He Tweeted: “Only James can unite our party, hold the government to account, and win the next General Election. That’s why I’m backing James Cleverly for Leader.”
Mr Mohindra is the third MP to support the shadow home secretary’s bid alongside Peter Fortune and Simon Hoare.
Only James can unite our party, hold the government to account, and win the next General Election.
— Gagan Mohindra MP (@gaganmohindra) July 25, 2024
That’s why I’m backing James Cleverly for Leader. pic.twitter.com/DHEemiSalx
Tories accused of ‘dropping ball’ in key policy areas
12:10
Salma Ouaguira
The future Tory leader is set for a fierce fight against Labour to clean the Tories’ record after Sir Keir Starmer accused the opposition of “dropping the ball” on various issues.
Speaking from Runcorn, the prime minister said the “hard graft of rebuilding this country has truly started” as he accused the previous government of leaving a “rot of short-sightedness and self-service” for Labour to clear up.
Sir Keir said “every day” his administration is finding “more mess” that the Tories left behind.
“The hard graft of rebuilding this country has well and truly started, and it is vital that we begin immediately because the last government dropped the ball,” he said.
“They left us the worst inheritance since the Second World War, and every day – every day – we’re finding more mess that they’ve left for us to clear up.
“The rot of short-sightedness and self-service that has weakened the foundations of our country.”
Sunak’s ally Mel Stride ‘likely' to announce leadership bid
12:00
Salma Ouaguira
Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, one of Rishi Sunak’s closest allies, has said he is considering running after “a number of colleagues” urged him to stand.
The former cabinet minis previously said he is considering running for the Conservative Party leadership after “a number of colleagues” urged him to stand.
The shadow work and pensions secretary, one of Rishi Sunak’s closest allies, said launching a leadership bid is “certainly a possibility”.
The Central Devon MP is viewed as a safe pair of hands within the party and was frequently sent out to tour broadcast studios to defend Mr Sunak’s leadership during the disastrous General Election campaign.
First elected to Parliament in 2010, he hung on to his seat by just 61 votes.
He is seen as on the more moderate wing of the party.
Ladbrokes has Mr Stride at 28/1 for the leadership, while he is at 31/1 with Betfair Exchange.
Kemi Badenoch’s Tory leadership website on maintenance mode
11:50
Salma Ouaguira
Kemi Badenoch’s Tory leadership website is undergoing maintenance which could mean she is preparing to announce her bid.
The combative former business secretary, who has been involved in a number of high-profile clashes, is seen as a strong contender. She had a good run when she competed for the leadership in 2022.
The former Equalities Minister, known for her “anti-woke” approach, was tipped to become the new “Margaret Thatcher” before she became fourth in the final ballot behind Penny Mordaunt, Mr Sunak and Liz Truss.
She was also favorite to become the next leader with the support of 25.83% of grassroots Tories, according to a poll.
Priti Patel ‘feared the most’ by Farage to become next Tory leader
11:40
Salma Ouaguira
Priti Patel is a longstanding Eurosceptic who has said she was inspired to join the Conservative Party by Margaret Thatcher.
Nigel Farage previously said he fears Dame Patel the most out of possible candidates to replace Rishi Sunak.
She became an MP in 2010 and served in Cabinet positions under Theresa May and Boris Johnson, as international development secretary and home secretary respectively.
Dame Priti was a leading figure in the Vote Leave campaign, and as home secretary launched a points-based immigration system, signed the agreement with Rwanda to send asylum seekers to the country, and sealed returns deals with Albania and Serbia.
She resigned as home secretary after Liz Truss became Tory leader.
A prominent figure on the right, Dame Priti’s odds with Ladbrokes are 6/1, while Betfair Exchange has her at 11/1.
Watch: Moment James Cleverly announces running for Conservative party leadership
11:30
Salma Ouaguira
How will the next Tory leader be chosen?
11:20
Salma Ouaguira
Leadership elections for the Conservative Party usually consist of two stages.
In the first stage Conservative MPs choose two candidates to put forward as potential leaders.
The rules and procedures for the first stage of a leadership election are not in a publicly available document. They are determined by the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee of backbench MPs in consultation with the Conservative Party Board.
When a Conservative leadership contest is held, the chair of the 1922 Committee will announce the rules to be followed and the timetable.
If there are more than two candidates the field is narrowed, usually through a series of ballots, depending on the number of candidates.
If multiple ballots are needed, the candidate with the lowest vote will be eliminated and MPs are re-balloted until only two candidates remain.
In addition, candidates may be eliminated if they fail to meet a pre-declared threshold of votes.
In the unlikely event that only one candidate is nominated they will become leader of the party, but they may be subject to a vote of party members to ratify the result.
Cleverly vows to get Tories ‘back into the habit of winning’
11:10
Salma Ouaguira
James Cleverly has revealed three reasons why he is standing to be leader of the Conservative Party.
The shadow Home Secretary said he wants to unite the party, hold Labour to account by being an “effective opposition” and get the Tories “back to our winning ways”.
Posting on X, he said:
➡️ Unite the party.
— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) July 25, 2024
➡️ Hold Labour to account.
➡️ Get us back to our winning ways.
That’s why I’m running to be Leader. pic.twitter.com/zRf3O6so3E
Who were the candidates on the last Tory leadership contest?
11:00
Salma Ouaguira
More than half a dozen Tory MPs put themselves forward to lead the Conservative party and become the next prime minister in 2022.
A dozen of candidates put their names forward but only seven were nominated. During the first round, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were the two least favoured candidates.
Rishi Sunak topped the ballot with the backing of 88 MPs, while Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt beat Liz Truss for second place with 67 votes to Truss’s 50.
Tom Tugendhat received 37 votes, Kemi Badenoch got the backing of 40 MPs and Suella Braverman received 32.
Tugendhat accused of U-turn on ECHR approach
10:49
Salma Ouaguira
Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat seems to have changed his mind on leaving the European Convention of Human Rights.
The shadow security minister, who is seen as a more centrist political figure, said he would be ready to leave the convention.
But in 2023, he claimed ditching the ECHR could have consequences for the Good Friday Agreement, Windsor Framework and the devolved nations.
“Don’t throw around words unless you can answer the questions.”
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) October 2, 2023
Abolishing the ECHR could have consequences for the Good Friday Agreement, Windsor Framework, and devolved administrations, warns @TomTugendhat.
Listen live from Manchester from 5pm with @JPonPolitics pic.twitter.com/ldqdf2IlVX
Bob Blackman: Engage in “proper debate, not personal attacks"
10:40
Salma Ouaguira
Bob Blackman, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, urged MPs and party members to remain respectful through the leaderdship contest.
He said: “I am determined that our party will have a respectful and thorough leadership debate. I believe that this timetable will allow for this.
“While there are significant debates to be had about our party’s future, we must remember that the country – and our members – want to see us engaged in proper debate, not personal attacks.
“I am confident that this process will allow for this.”
Report: Mortgage rate rises pushed 320,000 more people into poverty during Tory government
10:26
Salma Ouaguira
While the Tories are busy choosing their next party leader, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has announced that mortgage rate rises pushed an estimated 320,000 more people into poverty during their time in power.
In 2022/23, the average mortgage rate was around 2.3%, translating to interest payments of £240 per month for a household with a typical outstanding mortgage, a report from the IFS said.
“But a 10th of households faced a mortgage interest rate of at least 4.7%, equivalent to £490 per month,” it continued.
The report said official poverty measures apply a single average interest rate to all households.
Absolute poverty among mortgage holders, officially 7.9% in 2022/23, is underestimated by around 70,000 people, according to the report.
Reacting to the figures, Labour’s treasury chief secretary, Darren Jones MP, said: “People are still paying the price of the Tories’ disastrous mini-budget that sent mortgages and rents spiralling.
“Reckless Conservative choices hit family and public finances alike, leaving the worst economic inheritance since the Second World War.
“This new Labour government will take the difficult decisions to fix the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
Braverman to Badenoch: Who could become the next Conservative leader?
10:15
Salma Ouaguira
Kemi Badenoch, who has been involved in a number of high-profile clashes, is seen as a strong contender. She had a good run when she competed for the leadership in 2022, Archie Mitchell writes.
A combative former business secretary and one-time darling of the Conservative right, she was seen to have blotted her copy book, however, when she canned a pledged bonfire of EU red tape. She has yet to formally announce her candidacy but was one of seven candidates to request nomination forms for the contest.
Suella Braverman is another former home secretary, who caused a shock when she dramatically resigned from Mr Sunak’s cabinet. At the time, she warned him that his Rwanda deportation plan would fail and that he was leading the party into electoral oblivion.
Her more extreme attacks on her own party are seen as helping the chances of her opponents, including Priti Patel. And she has suffered early setbacks, with key supporters, including right-winger Danny Kruger and her long-time mentor Sir John Hayes, backing rivals instead.
Ms Braverman also requested a leadership pack – but she has also not yet formally launched her bid.
Tom Tugendhat joins race for Tory party leadership
10:05
Salma Ouaguira
Jenrick to launch leadership campaign on Friday
09:53
Salma Ouaguira
Robert Jenrick is expected to officially launch his leadership campaign next Friday.
By tomorrow, all candidates to stand in the contest will be announced with the deadline for nominations set on Monday next week.
At the rally event, the MP for Newark will launch his bid and attempt to convince Tories that he can lead the party from the opposition.
Robert Jenrick vows to ‘bring party together'
09:44
Andre Langlois
Following the Tory leadership announcement, Robert Jenrick has promised to “bring the party together” if he becomes the new leader.
Danny Kruger, his campaign manager, is expected to submit the nomination this morning.
The Tory MP said: “To have any path back to government we must win back those voters we have lost - across the board but particularly to Reform. At the same time, we have to bring our party together, united behind one set of coherent Conservative principles.
“The British people need to be convinced that we are the most responsible and competent party of government for us to have any chance of winning in 2029, especially when we know Labour are set to fail on so many important issues for our country. Rob Jenrick will do that. He has the energy, temperament and policy agenda to take on our rivals and lead us back to power in five years.”
Breaking: Robert Jenrick to run for Tory leader
09:26
Salma Ouaguira
Robert Jenrick has announced he will stand to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party.
According to the Telegraph, he has managed to make it to the ballot paper after gathering the support of 10 Conservative MPs.
A one-time close ally of Mr Sunak, he also turned on the former PM over issues such as immigration and housebuilding in the dying days of his premiership.
Some Tory MPs, on both wings of the party, are wary of his apparent change of heart on the issue. But he is seen as someone with the politics to win back right-wing voters lost to Reform UK, with the personality of David Cameron to help the Tories win back voters lost to the Liberal Democrats in the blue wall.
He is also yet to formally kick off a campaign, but is one of the seven expected candidates who have picked up nomination papers.
Farage accuses Tory leadership candidates for ‘pretending’ to want to quit ECHR
09:25
Salma Ouaguira
Nigel Farage has accused Tory leadership candidates of only “pretending” to want to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Reform UK leader said ditching the ECHR had become a priority for contenders because his party is now a political “force”.
Mr Farage has previously used his maiden speech in the Commons to call for a referendum to stop the membership.
He tweeted this morning: “ECHR membership is a Tory leadership issue because Reform are a force. The difference is we want to leave and they just pretend.”
ECHR membership is a Tory leadership issue because Reform are a force. The difference is we want to leave and they just pretend.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 25, 2024
Tugendhat denies ‘political opportunism’ over ECHR approach
09:17
Salma Ouaguira
Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat has denied that his suggestion that he would be prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is political opportunism.
“No, I’ve been very, very clear I am prepared to make any decision that will keep the British people safe,” he told GB News when questioned about his change of tone on the issue.
“I am prepared to leave the ECHR, or indeed any other institution that doesn’t serve the interests of the British people.”
Mr Tugendhat talked up his experience as former security minister and in the armed forces, saying he has a “track record of delivery” for the British people.
Which Tories have ruled themselves out of the leadership race?
09:14
Salma Ouaguira
With Tories starting to throw their hat in the ring, others, have decided to not run at the race.
Victoria Atkins announces she will not stand for the Tory leadership and claimed it was never her intention to put her name forward.
The former health secretary had previously left the door open for a leadership bid in the run-up to the General Election.
Ms Atkins, who held her Louth and Horncastle seat with a reduced majority, had been discussed as a contender from the more moderate wing of the party.
She was reportedly talked up by former deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, in a leaked recording from December, as a “star” capable of leading the Tories.
But in a Telegraph article on Wednesday night she said: “I am flattered that many people in the House and beyond have asked me to stand, but it has never been my intention to run in this contest.”
Another former contender to leave the ring was Jeremy Hunt.
Having previously run for leader in 2019 and 2022, Mr Hunt has ruled himself out of having a third go.
After surviving a scare to cling on to his Godalming and Ash seat at the General Election, the shadow chancellor told GB News the “time has passed” for a further attempt.
Most popular Tory leadership contender revealed in new poll
09:04
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has emerged as an early frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest because he has the lowest negative rating with members of the public.
According to Savanta, the former security minister has a net rating of -3 with the wider public and +28 with 2024 Tory voters.
It comes in stark contrast to former home secretary Priti Patel who has scored -28 net rating with the public and +7 with Conservative voters.
The pair are among seven MPs understood to be entering their names into the race as nominations open today for contenders to replace Rishi Sunak. They are set to close on Monday with those getting the support of 10 other Tory MPs allowed to go forward.
Our political editor David Maddox has the full story:
Shadow minister urges party to become a ‘diligent’ opposition
08:54
Salma Ouaguira
Andrew Griffith has urged the future Tory leader to form a “diligent” opposition to win back votes lost to Reform UK.
He told Sky News: “It is not about Reform it is about how we get back the Conservatives that gave us their votes in 2019 and previous elections and for whatever reason did not support us at the last election.”
He said the way to win back the electorate is to make sure the party is a “diligent” opposition.
The shadow science secretary added: “There is lots of significant challenges and the road back is going to be hard and require a lot of discipline. You control what you can control.”
Andrew Griffith rules out running in the leadership race
08:41
Salma Ouaguira
Shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith has confirmed he will not run in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the next Conservative leader.
He told Sky News: “Anyone would fancy it, but I am not standing.”
Mr Griffith added: “We have got a good bench, I’d like to see that develop over the next few days. it is a really important job and we have a big piece of work to do to demonstrate trust and competence.
“There is a debate about policy but I think above all else it is about how we demonstrate as a Conservative Party what we stand for and how we can deliver it competently.
“That starts with being a good leader of the opposition.”
Tom Tugendhat launches leadership bid in video
08:29
Salma Ouaguira
The Tory leadership contender has posted a video launching his bid to become the next party leader.
In the clip, he admitted “where we failed” and vowed to rebuild the trust lost during 14 years of Tory administration.
He said: “We said we’d cut taxes and they went up. We said we’d cut immigration, it went up. We let people down. We lost their trust.
“We fought among ourselves, instead of delivering for the British people.
“We forgot leadership is about fixing the problems people actually care about. I will end the infighting, rebuild the trust and deliver for you. I want to lead the Conservative party and make us ready for government in five years time.
Mr Tugendhat then promised voters that a future Conservative government will be straight with the public, adding: “We will say what we mean and we will do what we say.”
People want their leaders to be straight with them.
— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) July 25, 2024
No games. No gimmicks.
This is why I’m running to be Leader of the Conservative Party. pic.twitter.com/uXZ22MGebk
More rivals expected to run in Tory leadership contest
08:17
Salma Ouaguira
The battle for the future of the Conservative Party officially began on Wednesday night with the opening of nominations in the contest to replace Rishi Sunak following the Tories’ worst general election result.
A long and potentially divisive campaign will eventually produce a winner on November 2.
The first to launch his leadership campaign was James Cleverly, joined by Tom Tugendhat.
With just a few days until nominations close, we could see more Tory MPs confirming their bids today. They have until 2.30pm on Monday and contenders need a proposer, seconder and eight other backers to stand.
The parliamentary party will then narrow the field down to four, who will make their case at the Conservative Party Conference, which runs from September 29 to October 2.
Tory leadership contender refuses to trash Rwanda scheme
08:07
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has refused to say whether the Rwanda deportation scheme was wrong.
Asked the question on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Tugendhat said he was “not going to be laying out policies in that specific way, what I am going to be talking about is Conservative values”.
Pressed on where the Tories had got wrong with their policies, he replied: “What went wrong is we failed to deliver.”
Tom Tugendhat touts his record in leadership tilt
08:04
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat is running for the Conservative leadership on a record of delivery, Archie Mitchell writes.
The Tory MP said the party needs to admit it failed to deliver for the public after the 2019 election, highlighting his own achievements as evidence he can turn it around.
Mr Tugendhat told LBC: “I have a track record of delivering, whether that’s on operations in the military in Afghanistan or Iraq, or whether that’s standing up to dictators in Parliament, which got me sanctioned by China, Russia and Iran.
“Or whether it’s delivering on the security agenda that, sadly, I haven’t been able to talk about, for rather obvious reasons as the cabinet minister responsible for national security.”
He added: “Those areas have demonstrated that I can deliver and unite the party to make sure we are able to win the next general election.”
Tugendhat refuses to name his biggest threat in the leadership race
08:02
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has refused to name his key contenders in the race to become Tory leader.
The shadow minister confirmed he has enough support for nomination.
But when asked about who could be his biggest threat, he said: “What is interesting about these competitions is that I am up against a lot of people, people who are friends of mine, worked with and in partnership with.”
Pressed on whether he has his eyes put on Kemi Badenoch, the MP for Tonbridge said: “I can’t answer the question I am afraid.”
Shadow security minister accuses Labour of ‘undermining the MoD'
07:56
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has accused the Labour government of “undermining” the Ministry of Defence after failing to set up a timeline for defence spending.
He has been asked about claims from the chief of the general staff Sir Roly Walker that the UK must be ready for war within three years.
The shadow security minister said: “He is talking about is the failure to prepare we have seen in the run up to conflict. We saw this when I was serving in Afghanistan.”
Hitting out at the government, he added: “I am worried about what Labour has set out, they haven’t put a timeline, they have undermined the MoD and their capacity to plan. And they have made it harder for defence industry to make sure we can support our operational needs.”
Tugendhat refuses to say whether he is ready to leave the ECHR
07:47
Salma Ouaguira
Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat has denied that his suggestion that he would be prepared to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is political opportunism.
“No, I’ve been very, very clear I am prepared to make any decision that will keep the British people safe,” he told GB News when questioned about his change of tone on the issue.
“I am prepared to leave the ECHR, or indeed any other institution that doesn’t serve the interests of the British people.”
Mr Tugendhat talked up his experience as former security minister and in the armed forces, saying he has a “track record of delivery” for the British people.
Tom Tugendhat: ‘We need to rethink everything’
07:40
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has said the Conservative Party needs to “rethink everything” after facing its worst general election defeat in history.The Tory leadership contender, seen as one of the front-runners, said the party failed to deliver since the 2019 contest, Archie Mitchell writes.
And Mr Tugendhat, from the moderate wing of the party, pointed specifically to soaring migrant numbers and the rising tax burden when asked why voters rejected the Conservatives.
The morning after officially launching his leadership bid, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we need to do is look at everything that happened in the last four or five years and make sure we rethink the agenda on which we stand.
“We are three weeks into a five year term of opposition, sadly, and we need to rethink everything we do in order to serve the British public… it’s going to take time but at the moment we need to apologise for the mistakes we made and recognise we failed to deliver.”
Tugendhat vows to ‘rebuild’ people’s trust in the Tories
07:39
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has promised to rebuild voters’ trust in the Conservative Party if he becomes the new leader.
He told Sky News: “My pitch is very simple, we have lost the trust of British people because we have failed to deliver.
“And we need to focus on delivering for the British people. Over the past few years I’ve demonstrated in operations in the military, in Afghanistan and Iraq that I’m able to deliver and I am able to stand up against authoritarian dictators.”
He added: “That track record of deliver is absolutely essential to rebuild that trust.”
Who will be the next Tory leader?
07:30
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has joined James Cleverly in publicly declaring his candidacy in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader.
There will potentially be a crowded field in the contest as Mr Cleverly acknowledged he was not the only one giving it “serious thought” ahead of nominations opening on Wednesday evening.
Mr Sunak, who led the Tories to their worst general election result, will remain as leader until a successor is appointed.
The winner will be announced on November 2. Here are the key contenders to watch:
- James Cleverly
- James Cleverly
- Kemi Badenoch
- Suella Braverman
- Dame Priti Patel
- Robert Jenrick
- Mel Stride
In full: Tom Tugendhat hints he would leave ECHR
07:23
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat has become the second senior Tory to announce a leadership bid, indicating he would be prepared to quit the European Convention on Human Rights to protect the UK’s borders.
The shadow security minister, who joined James Cleverly in publicly declaring his leadership ambitions, insisted he could lead the Conservatives to victory at the next general election.
Launching his leadership campaign in the Telegraph he denied the party would be split by a divisive contest, because on key issues including the ECHR, gender, taxes, defence and net zero all Tories shared the same “common sense” views.
Tugendhat: Truss demonstrated a recklessness that surprised all of us
07:14
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat said he had been surprised by Liz Truss’s recklessness as he was quizzed about previously backing her.
“I stood against every other leadership contender at the last time and then I was left with the choice of two,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
He added: “Liz demonstrated a recklessness that surprised all of us.”
The contender for the Conservative leadership dodged questions of whether backing Ms Truss and her economic plan showed a lack of judgment on his part.
He said: “What we need to be doing is focusing on the challenges that are facing us in the future. Over the last three, four years – you’re absolutely right. We have failed to deliver. That’s exactly why I’m standing because I think we need to unite this country. We need to rebuild that trust, and we need to deliver.”
Tugendhat confident he can reverse Tories’ disastrous election result as party leader
07:09
Salma Ouaguira
Tom Tugendhat said he believes he could turn around the Tories’ disastrous election result as party leader and pointed to Labour’s landslide win after a poor result in 2019.
The Tory leadership contender was asked on BBC Breakfast if he believed he could win an election as leader of the Conservative Party in five years’ time: “Yes, it is possible to do that. You’ve got to restore trust. You’ve got to demonstrate delivery and you’ve got to be able to listen to the British people to make sure you understand where the challenges are.
“But you can look at what Keir Starmer achieved, frankly, he went from his worst electoral result to his best in five years.
“We can do the same but we need to be united. We need to regain the trust of the British people and we need to be ready to deliver.”
Suella Braverman heads leadership bid from right of party
07:06
Barney Davis
The former home secretary is widely expected to launch a bid to lead the party from the right and has warned that the Conservatives must not become “a collection of fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks”.
Ms Braverman, who has a track record of controversial opinions, also ran for the Tory leadership two years ago, coming sixth.
First elected as an MP in 2015, seld the Home Office brief under both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, who sacked her from the post over an article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias in policing protests.
Ms Braverman, a barrister by trade, was previously attorney general for England and Wales under Boris Johnson and has also chaired the Eurosceptic European Research Group.
She has said she would welcome Reform UK’s Nigel Farage into the Conservative Party, saying: “There’s not much difference really between him and many of the policies that we stand for.”
Ladbrokes has Ms Braverman at 16/1 to succeed Mr Sunak, while she is 69/1 with Betfair Exchange.
Peter Fortune MP throws his weight behind James Cleverly
05:30
Barney Davis
The MP for Bromley and Biggin Hill posted on X: “I’ve known James for 15 yrs.
“He has a record of delivery and service for local communities and the country. He was a strong voice in hard times.
“A voice that was firm but never raised. A communicator. A unifier. A leader. I wholeheartedly support his bid for the Leadership.”
The last Tory leadership election
03:00
Barney Davis
The last Conservative leadership election came following Liz Truss’ resignation in October 2022.
Ms Truss was elected to replace Boris Johnson, but only lasted six weeks in office after he disastrous mini budget sent economic markets into turmoil.
Two candidates put their name forward: Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak.
Ms Mordaunt withdrew from the contest less than two minutes before the deadline for nominations, leaving Mr Sunak the only candidate in the contest and thus, party leader without a ballot of MPs or party members.
Jeremy Hunt rules himself out of standing
02:06
Barney Davis
Having previously run for leader in 2019 and 2022, Jeremy Hunt has ruled himself out of having a third go.
After surviving a scare to cling on to his Godalming and Ash seat at the General Election, the shadow chancellor told GB News the “time has passed” for a further attempt.
Danny Kruger backing Robert Jenrick for leader
01:06
Barney Davis
Danny Kruger said he was backing Robert Jenrick to unite the Tories.
The co-chair of the New Conservatives, a right-wing grouping of MPs, told The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots: “The challenge we have got is to win back those voters we have lost to Reform, but also hold the centre of the party together and convince those wavering voters in the middle who might have left