Who will be the next Tory leader? All the front runners ranked from Priti Patel to Kemi Badenoch

After a catastrophic defeat the party has kicked off its own election to pick Rishi Sunak’s successor

The Conservatives’ latest leadership contest is underway after Rishi Sunak led the party to its worst election defeat in history.

A string of senior figures have thrown their hats in the ring to succeed the former PM and lead the party through the next five years in opposition.

Candidates must win the support of 10 Conservative MPs before the Monday deadline in order to make it onto the ballot paper.

With the shortlist to be whittled down gradually until a final four are paraded in front of the party faithful at October’s Tory conference, The Independent looks at the runners and riders to take the reins from Mr Sunak.

Who has officially declared?

James Cleverly

Former home secretary James Cleverly avoided losing his seat, unlike many of his cabinet colleagues (Sky)

James Cleverly became the first contender to formally launch a leadership bid, promising to unite the warring party weeks after Mr Sunak’s historic defeat.

A former home secretary, he promised to “overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide” and “restore the confidence of the British people in us as a party”. Mr Cleverly’s appeal comes from having served as home and foreign secretary, two of the UK’s great offices of state. He is also seen as more moderate than candidates such as Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, while still taking a hard-line approach to legal and illegal migration.

Odds: 11/2

Tom Tugendhat

Tom Tugendhat also flew out of the traps launching his leadership bid (Sky News)

One of the great hopes of the One Nation Conservatives, security minister Tom Tugendhat also flew out of the traps to launch his leadership bid just a day after Mr Cleverly.

Mr Tugendhat stood unsuccessfully for the leadership two years ago, placing fifth in the contest which saw Liz Truss take over as prime minister.

He is considered to have grown in stature since then and has had a job in cabinet that he can use to argue he is a serious leader who can take his party through difficult times.

After formally entering the race, he highlighted his track record of delivery, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, enjoyed a stint as security minister and “stood up to dictators in parliament”.

Odds: 9/2

Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick is seen as a figure who could entice former Tory voters back in (PA)

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 those who voted for the Liberal Democrats in the blue wall.

His campaign team announced today that he has secured the support of 10 Conservative MPs and will be submitting the nomination to 1922 Committee chair Bob Blackman this morning.

Mr Jenrick’s campaign manager, Danny Kruger, said the former immigration minister has the “energy, temperament and policy agenda to take on our rivals and lead us back to power in 5 years”.

Odds: 7/2

Mel Stride 

Mel Stride is a surprise entrant to the Tory leadership election, with the staunch Sunak ally painting himself as a One Nation figure to unite the MPs that remain (BBC)

Mel Stride is a surprise entrant to the Tory leadership election, with the staunch Sunak ally painting himself as a One Nation figure to unite the MPs that remain.

The former work and pensions secretary became a key figurehead for Mr Sunak’s failed election campaign, regularly appearing on the airwaves to advocate for the Conservative Party.

He officially declared his candidacy on Friday morning, telling BBC Breakfast: “I’m fully nominated. I was nominated yesterday morning and my candidacy has gone forward.”

Mr Stride said the Tory party had “substantially lost the trust of the British people” as well as its “reputation for competence”.

Odds: 40/1

Kemi Badenoch

Shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch is the bookmakers’ favourite (PA)

The combative former business secretary, who has been involved in a number of high-profile clashes, is seen as a front-runner. She had a good run when she competed for the leadership in 2022.

A one-time darling of the Conservative right, she was seen to have blotted her copybook when she canned a pledged bonfire of EU red tape.

She officially launched her campaign the night before nominations opened, calling for the contest to be a debate about “what it means to be a Conservative”. Diagnosing the Tory election defeat, she added that “we deserved to lose because the past decade saw us twist and turn in the wind, unsure of who we were”

Odds: 11/8

Priti Patel

Priti Patel resigned as home secretary after Liz Truss became Tory leader (PA)

Dame Priti Patel is promising a revolution in the Conservative Party by offering to hand back some control of policy to ordinary party members and allow them to elect key officials. She officially entered the race over the weekend.

The leadership pitch by the former home secretary is an overt attempt to stop the flow of Tory members defecting to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and restore right-wing policies at the heart of her party. She is also popular with grassroots Tories and has avoided alienating other MPs, unlike Suella Braverman.

Under the current rules, the party’s remaining rump of MPs get to decide which of the eventual leadership candidates will make it to the final two. At that stage more than 100,000 local party members then make their choice and crown the winner. The format will favour Ms Patel, as a Boris Johnson loyalist, who was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in his resignation honours.

Odds: 13/2

Who has dropped out?

Suella Braverman

Former home secretary Suella Braverman is widely expected to launch a bid to lead the party from the right (PA)

Suella Braverman has dropped out of the race before the nominations deadline, despite claiming she had the number of MPs required.

The former home secretary’s bid for the leadership was plagued by early setbacks as key backers from the Tory right fell in behind her rival Mr Jenrick. Key figures such as Danny Kruger and her longtime mentor Sir John Hayes were to support the former immigration minister over Ms Braverman, all but ending her hopes of commanding enough support from the party to win.

Ms Braverman 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 Ms Patel.

But, dropping out before nominations opened, Ms Braverman said she had the required support to run but that the “Tory Party does not want to hear the truths I’ve set out”.