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 (ECHR) 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.
In his first round of interviews since entering the contest , Mr Tugendhat echoed Rishi Sunak’s stance on the ECHR, attempting to toe the line between appealing to right-wingers and not spooking more moderate Conservatives. He said he would be willing to quit the convention if he believed it no longer “served the interests of the British people”.
Quizzed about what went wrong, Mr Tugendhat refused to criticise the former prime minister, who led the Conservative Party to its worst election defeat in history. Instead, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “we need to be looking at everything that happened in the last five years and making sure we are rethinking the agenda on which we stand”.
Pressed repeatedly on what went wrong, Mr Tugendhat said the party “failed to deliver” after the 2019 general election, highlighting the spiralling tax burden and record net migration.
It came after the battle for the future of the Conservative Party officially began on Wednesday night, with the opening of nominations in the contest to replace Mr Sunak.
Mr Tugendhat, who is viewed as a moderate within the Conservative ranks, has emerged as an early frontrunner because he has the lowest negative rating with members of the public.
He has insisted there was little to separate him from his rivals on the right on key issues.
As well as refusing to directly criticise Mr Sunak, he dodged questions about whether backing Ms Truss and her disastrous economic plan showed a lack of judgment. Mr Tugendhat told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he was surprised by the “recklessness” shown by Ms Truss as prime minister.
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.”
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.
“We know that if institutions do not serve the British people and make it harder to control our own borders, then we will have to exempt ourselves from them, or leave their jurisdiction.
“We know what a woman is. We all want lower taxes. We all know national security must come before Treasury spreadsheets. We all know that energy security and household bills come first.
“These are common-sense Conservative positions. They are non-negotiable for me and, I would hope, for anyone else who puts themselves forward.”
The Conservatives were reduced to just 121 seats as Rishi Sunak’s premiership ended in electoral disaster.
But Mr Tugendhat said: “I am not just running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party. I am running to be the next Conservative prime minister. That is what this leadership election is all about: winning. We can’t serve the British people if we don’t win the next general election.
“We can win it. We must win it. I can lead the party to that victory.”
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly was the first of the leadership contenders to announce they would stand and he is understood to be confident he has the support of the 10 MPs needed to enter the race.
There will potentially be a crowded field in the contest, which could trigger months of Conservative infighting as the party considers how to respond to its worst ever election result before the winner is announced on November 2.
Shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch is the favourite in the race, according to bookmakers.
Former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick are also expected to launch leadership bids.
But shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins , who had been the subject of leadership speculation, has ruled herself out in a Telegraph article.
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.
“Until polling day three weeks ago, I had one of the biggest jobs in government, on which I was completely focused. I now want to help the next leader unite, rebuild and renew our party.”
According to polling by Savanta carried out between July 19 and 21, Mr Tugendhat is the most popular potential contender among both the public, at minus three points, and 2024 Conservative voters, at 21 points.
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