Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick join Tory leadership race as James Cleverly leads with MP endorsements - live
Three Tories have thrown their hats in the ring as the three-month leadership contest to replace Rishi Sunak begins
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
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.
Tugendhat vows to ‘rebuild’ people’s trust in the Tories
Tom Tugendhat has promised to rebuild voters’ trust in the Conservative Party if he becomes the new leader.
The MP for Tonbridge told Sky News: “It went incredibly badly for the Conservative Party and many people chose any party but us.
“We need to rebuild that trust.”
He added: “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. That track record of deliver is absolutely essential to rebuild that trust.”
Who will be the next Tory leader?
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
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.
Tom Tugendhat joins race to be next Tory leader with hint he would leave ECHR
Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat claims he could win the next general election for the Conservatives
Tugendhat: Truss demonstrated a recklessness that surprised all of us
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 to the Lib Dems or even Labour that we are actually a responsible and competent party of government.
“And I think Rob manages that. He’s got the competence and the personality and the temperament, also he has got the right policies.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments