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Seven Conservative MPs have signalled they are hoping to stand in the Tory leadership election that will decide who succeeds Rishi Sunak.
Former business secretary Kemi Badenoch — seen as the frontrunner in the contest — and ex-home secretary James Cleverly have picked up nomination forms for the contest, according to a senior Conservative official.
The official added that rightwing MPs Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, and Suella Braverman, ex-home secretary, had also collected the forms from party grandees supervising the election.
The other MPs said to have picked up the documents were former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, ex-work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, and former security minister Tom Tugendhat.
The seven MPs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nominations for the contest to succeed Sunak opened on Wednesday evening, and close on Monday.
Those seeking to stand must secure the backing of at least 10 Tory MPs. Party grandees expect five or six would-be candidates to reach this threshold of support.
The Conservative parliamentary party will then whittle the number of candidates down to two, leaving the Tory membership to make the final choice. Sunak’s successor will be unveiled on November 2.
Former health secretary Victoria Atkins — who had been seen as a potential contender — has ruled herself out. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, she said the Tories had been defeated in July’s general election because they had lost people’s trust.
She added that the party would only return to power by appealing to young voters and taking a pragmatic approach to governing the country.
“During the campaign, I met former Conservative voters who wanted to vote for us but could not because our longstanding reputation for integrity, pragmatism and competence had taken a beating in recent years,” added Atkins.
Bookmakers have Badenoch as favourite to succeed Sunak, followed by Jenrick, Tugendhat, Cleverly, Patel and Stride.
Cleverly, who also served as foreign secretary, on Tuesday became the first Tory MP to formally launch a bid. A Brexiter who also appeals to centrists in the party, he will pitch himself as a unity candidate.
He told the BBC that voters had been left with the wrong impression that “we were more focused on ourselves than serving the British people” in recent years, adding: “We have to get out of that habit.”
Cleverly, who faced a strong challenge from Reform UK in his Braintree constituency in Essex, rejected suggestions the Tories should merge with Nigel Farage’s populist party.
