Tom Tugendhat joins race to be next Conservative leader

Ex-politician Tom Tugendhat has declared his candidacy for the upcoming leadership race within the Conservative party.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, he stated that he was not only vying for the position of the next leader of the Conservative party, but also aiming to become the next Prime Minister of the party.

Mr. Tugendhat is now the second Conservative Member of Parliament to join the competition to take over from Rishi Sunak as leader of the party. This comes after former Home Secretary James Cleverly made his announcement on Tuesday.

Mr Sunak said he was stepping down from his position shortly after the party suffered its worst defeat ever in the general election on July 4th.

He will remain in the position until a new person is chosen.

Putting forth his candidacy for the role of new leader, Mr. Tugendhat expressed that his party had been unsuccessful in the previous election due to a lack of trust from the British public.

He stated in the Telegraph that the people desired the things we had pledged: decreased taxes, reduced immigration, and greater influence over their day-to-day affairs.

These are conservative principles. We simply did not follow through.

"We were unable to succeed because we were too preoccupied with arguing amongst ourselves."

He also mentioned that he is open to the possibility of withdrawing from the European Court of Human Rights if he becomes elected. He explained that if institutions do not benefit the British people and hinder their ability to manage their borders, then the country may need to disassociate from them or no longer be under their authority.

He also mentioned his desire for defense spending to increase to 3% of the country's total income, an expansion of nuclear power to lower energy costs, and urban planning regulations that promote vertical growth over horizontal expansion in cities.

Prior to becoming a member of Parliament, Mr Tugendhat, 51, worked as a military officer and completed deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2015, he won the election to become the Member of Parliament representing Tonbridge in Kent.

As the head of the foreign affairs committee, he strongly disagreed with the decision of the Western countries to pull out of Afghanistan in 2021 and expressed worries about potential dangers from China.

He also openly condemned Boris Johnson for the controversy surrounding parties held during lockdown, stating that the government appeared to lack credibility.

After Mr Johnson stepped down in 2022, Mr Tugendhat decided to run for the position of party leader. However, he was knocked out of the race during the third round of voting.

He was the security minister in the Home Office from September 2022 until the recent general election.

Many have typically viewed him as a member of the moderate One Nation faction within the Conservative party.

To participate in the competition, Conservative Members of Parliament need support from at least 10 MPs before July 29th.

In September, members of Parliament will narrow down the options to four candidates before the party's yearly conference in Birmingham.

Then, the numbers will be reduced to just two options and party members will make the final choice, with voting ending on 2 November.

Previous health secretary Victoria Atkins has decided not to join the competition, stating that she will back the next leader in efforts to "rebuild and rejuvenate" the party.

Possible contenders who have not yet revealed their intentions include former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel, shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch, and former Home Office minister Robert Jenrick.