James Cleverly has become the first candidate to declare in the Conservative leadership contest. Announcing the news tonight in an op-ed for the Telegraph, the shadow home secretary made the pitch that he ‘can unite the Conservatives and overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide’.
He says:
We need to rediscover confidence that our core values are shared by the British public and present an offer of unity, security, and prosperity.
We must ditch the self indulgent infighting and be ready to deliver when the next chance comes. This will take dedication, discipline and focus.
More announcements are expected in the coming days after the 1922 committee agreed the rules and timetable for the contest. On Wednesday, contenders can qualify for the race if they secure the backing of ten MPs (one can be themselves). It means there could be several contenders in the first round – spending the summer garnering support ahead of knock-out rounds in September.
So, how will Cleverly fare? By declaring now, he is trying to get the benefits of first-mover advantage. A recent poll suggested Cleverly is the most popular of the likely candidates among the electorate. However, the groups he needs to win over are MPs and members – and it is not clear he is ahead here. As Foreign Secretary he regularly topped the ConHome cabinet league table, but this fell when he became Home Secretary. He will be hoping his campaign can recapture the spirit of his Foreign Office days. The other part of the Cleverly offer is unity – effectively that most MPs can live with him as leader. He served under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. That means part of the pitch will be a hope that the other hopefuls are more divisive – and he can ride on an ‘anyone but’ ticket.
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