James Cleverly, a former foreign secretary, has declared his candidacy for the position of head of the Conservative Party.
The Braintree MP, who is presently the home secretary’s shadow, announced his candidacy on social media on Tuesday night with a video.
He is the first Conservative to declare that they are vying to be the party’s leader after the announcement that Rishi Sunak will be replaced by a three-month race in November.
According to Mr. Sunak, he will continue to serve as interim head until a replacement is chosen.
In the video announcing his campaign, Mr. Cleverly stated that the Conservatives needed to “rebuild our reputation” as a party that “drives economic growth and helps people achieve their goals, dreams, and aspirations.”
“We can only achieve this as a united party, dedicated to addressing the needs of the British people,” he added.
Before this, Mr. Cleverly had pleaded with his party not to “narrow our offer” as it worked to recover from its devastating election setback on July 4.
According to him, the party should strive to be a “broad church” to win back both left and right supporters.
It was generally anticipated that the shadow home secretary would enter the Tory leadership contest. In past Conservative governments, he held the positions of home secretary and foreign secretary.
Other possible contenders include former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, home secretaries Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel, shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat, and shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch. Former minister Mel Stride declared that he was “considering” running for the position.
To remain in the race, leadership contenders must receive ten votes from other Tory MPs by July 29. Up to 11 MPs might still be in the race at this time.
When parliament reconvenes in early September, MPs will then start to reduce the field through a series of ballots, bringing the total down to four by the end of that month at the Tory conference.
On October 31, party members will cast their votes for a leader chosen from that shortlist.
The chairman of the Backbenchers’ 1922 Committee, Bob Blackman, expressed his determination to ensure that the party has a courteous and comprehensive leadership discussion.
He added, “Although there are important discussions to be had about the future of our party, we must remember that both the country and our members want to see us engaged in meaningful debate, rather than personal attacks.”