James Cleverly is the first Tory to declare his bid for leadership to replace Rishi Sunak

23 July 2024 , 21:11

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James Cleverly is the first Tory to declare his bid for leadership to replace Rishi Sunak

The Tories have announced they will not confirm their new leader until November 2 - meaning there will be months of infighting with Rishi Sunak forced to remain

Ex-Home Secretary James Cleverly has become the first Tory to formally declare he’s running to be the next leader.

He said the party must ditch “self-indulgent infighting” and pitched himself as a unity candidate to defeat Reform UK and win back Tory voters who backed the Lib Dems and Labour. Mr Cleverly claimed Keir Starmer was “beatable” and Labour’s landslide was a “sandcastle - built on the back of our failures rather than enthusiasm for a big, high tax state”, in an article for the Telegraph. 

The Shadow Home Secretary, 54, admitted the Tories had lost the trust of voters, who abandoned the party to their worst General Election result in history. He said people “questioned our motives, our ability, and our commitment to delivering for them", adding: "That must change".

Mr Cleverly is the first out of the blocks in what is likely to be a fractious contest that will run until November 2. Nominations open on Wednesday, with eight potential candidates including former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch and ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick seen as early frontrunners.

Former Cabinet Ministers Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat, Victoria Atkins and Mel Stride are also names in the frame to succeed Rishi Sunak. Mr Sunak has formally stood down as party leader and will remain as acting leader until November.

Nominations for candidates will close on Monday and the field will be whittled down to four by MPs before Parliament rises for the summer break. The remaining candidate will then make their pitch to Tory members at the party’s annual conference at the end of September.

MPs will then pick their favourite two, who will go head-to-head in an online ballot of Tory members. Polling of 995 party members by ConservativeHome found that 26% back Ms Badenoch. Moderate Tom Tugendhat and right-winger Robert Jenrick both polled at 13%. Ms Braverman was backed by 10%, with James Cleverly on 9% and Dame Priti Patel on 3%.

Elizabeth Baker