Tom Tugendhat (Image: Getty)
The former Army officer vowed to “regain voters’ trust and bring a return to Conservative values”.
Launching his campaign, Mr Tugendhat pledged to put an end to “division” and lead the party to victory in five years' time.
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He said: “The British people rightly wanted control - over their lives, streets, borders, trade and much more - and instead of delivering on our promises we lost their trust and focused on fighting among ourselves.
“The only way we will win their trust back is by sticking to our Conservative principles and keeping our promises.
“I live by a simple rule. If I say I’ll do something, I do it. I swore to serve King and Country, so I fought our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Tom Tugenhat, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch (Image: Daily Express)
“I fought them again in Government as Security Minister under two Conservative Prime Ministers. I didn’t win every argument I had then, but I won the important fight, to keep the country safe.
“Politics, like life, comes down to one simple rule: keep your promises. I’m standing to be Leader of the Party to keep my promises and deliver for this country and I know that when the Conservative Party does that, it wins.”
It is the second time Mr Tugendhat has run for the Tory leadership, coming fifth in 2022 to Liz Truss following Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Mr Tugendhat is the most popular potential Conservative leadership contender among the public, according to new research from Savanta.
He is the second senior Tory to declare they are standing to replace Rishi Sunak after shadow home secretary James Cleverly.
Other potential leadership candidates include ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick, former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Dame Priti Patel, shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch and shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride.
Priti Patel (Image: Getty)
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The Express understands that Mr Tugendhat already has the 10 nominations from fellow MPs to be allowed into the contest.
And he has the backing of influential Tory figures Damian Green, Steve Baker and Sir Jake Berry.
In a Conservative Home survey of 995 Tory Party members last week, Mr Tugendhat polled at 13 per cent – in second place alongside Mr Jenrick, ahead of Ms Braverman (10 per cent) and Mr Cleverly (9 per cent).
Ms Badenoch polled first at 26 per cent, with Ms Patel in sixth with 3 per cent.
The Conservative Party is set to announce its new leader on November 2.
Mr Sunak said it was in "the national interest" that he should remain as acting leader until then.
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The 1922 Committee of backbench MPs has discussed a contest to replace Mr Sunak in which the final four candidates take the stage in a "beauty parade" at the party conference in September.
They will be whittled down to two on October 10 before ballots are sent out to grassroots party members across the country.
The ballot closes at 5pm on October 31.