Robert Jenrick thinks the Conservatives can win at the next election – but added that the party has a “mountain to climb” and must show “where we went wrong”.
The former immigration minister will formally launch his Conservative leadership campaign on Friday.
He will say the Conservatives need to undergo “serious changes” to restore voter confidence after the party’s worst-ever general election result.
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The Newark MP is expected to tell a campaign rally in the East Midlands: “We have a mountain to climb.
“Trust is a difficult achievement, but it is easily lost. It cannot be restored overnight.
“But if the party learns the hard lessons, listens to the country and shows that the party has changed – if we show the country that we listened, if we show the country that we know where we went wrong and learned our lessons – if we show that we understand the scale of the challenges that this country faces and that we are capable of delivering back to Britain if we show that we come together, a broad church, but united by a common creed…
“Above all, if we show that we have changed, I know we can win again.
“Not in two terms. Not in a decade. But in the next general election.”
Jenrick is the sixth Conservative MP to declare his intention to stand in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative leader.
He will be competing against Shadow Communities Secretary Kemi Badenoch, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, Home Secretary James Cleverly and former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel.
On Monday, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, once seen as the right’s choice for future Conservative leader, excluded from the race after claiming she was labeled “crazy, bad and dangerous” by colleagues.
Jenrick, who has represented Newark since 2014, has held a number of ministerial roles in the House of Commons, including as housing secretary, health minister and finance minister to the Treasury.
He was an ally of Sunak but resigned as immigration minister last year over the former prime minister’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda, describing the bill as a “triumph of hope over experience”.
In a campaign video this week, Jenrick said Sunak’s party was “unable or unwilling” to do what was needed to reduce migration to the UK.
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Badenoch and Braverman exchanged jibes before the competition even began. Photos: PA
Jenrick will run on a platform of reducing immigration and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, which Sunak has been reluctant to commit to.
Conservative leader nominees must have 10 supporters to submit their documents to enter the race.
The field will be narrowed to four in time for the Conservative conference in Birmingham, before MPs vote on the final two candidates, who will face a vote from Conservative members.
The new leader will then be announced on November 2nd.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
