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James Cleverly has become the first Tory MP to formally launch a campaign to take over as the next Conservative leader, with the former foreign secretary vowing on Tuesday to unite his riven party and restore its reputation.
The Conservative MP for Braintree, also previously home secretary and party chair, said the Tories needed to “rediscover confidence” in their core values and “present an offer of unity, security, and prosperity” to the electorate.
He launched a campaign website and published a short video on social media site X detailing his early life in south London with his mother, an NHS midwife, and his father, a small businessman.
Cleverly, 54, said he went into politics to secure for other families the same opportunities he had enjoyed.
Citing his experience in cabinet, he said he had stood up to Britain’s enemies and defended its friends while he had been foreign secretary. During his stint as home secretary he oversaw a reduction in net migration, he added.
His bid to seek first-mover advantage came on the eve of nominations opening on Wednesday. Contenders need 10 nominations to enter the race.
They will campaign over the summer, with the party conference at the end of September becoming a “beauty parade” for the final four candidates. Rishi Sunak’s successor will be announced on November 2.
In an article for The Telegraph, regarded as the house journal of Tory members — who will vote for the winner after MPs whittle the field down to a final two — Cleverly urged colleagues to “ditch the self-indulgent infighting”.
In its place he called for “dedication, discipline and focus” to win the next election, after the Tories slumped to their worst-ever defeat in the general election earlier this month.
He called for a smaller state, lower taxes and less red tape, arguing the Conservatives needed to “rediscover a national sense of purpose and self-reliance centred on a British economic dream of aspiration”.
The former army reservist also called for defence spending to rise to 3 per cent of GDP “as soon as possible”. The Labour government has said it will increase defence expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP, but has not committed itself to a timetable.
Suella Braverman, another former Tory home secretary, is widely expected to also throw her hat into the ring. She warned on Tuesday that the Tories must not become “a collection of fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks” and hit out at “woke nonsense”.
Other potential contenders include the former business secretary Kemi Badenoch, ex-work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.