Mel Stride has announced his entry to the Conservative leadership race to succeed Rishi Sunak on Friday. The former work and pensions secretary has the support of 10 MPs, the minimum requirement to proceed to the next stage of the contest. Stride, formerly central Devon MP, is the fourth person to join the race after former home secretary James Cleverly and ex-home office ministers Tom Tugendhat and Robert Jenrick.
Stride had hinted at his intention to run for the position earlier this week following suggestions from ‘a number of colleagues.’ During the last government, he was a close associate of Rishi Sunak and was frequently appointed to media interviews during the election campaign.
In the election earlier this month, Stride managed to retain his constituency of central Devon by a narrow margin of just 61 votes, barely avoiding a defeat to Labour. Speaking on the night of the election, Stride urged the party to ‘think long and deep’ about what had occurred in the past 24 hours to help position themselves as the natural party of government once again.
Leadership hopefuls have until Monday to gather ten nominations from fellow MPs. Successful candidates will have the summer to persuade MPs as they narrow the list to four, two of whom will then be put forward for party members to choose as the next leader. The election results are anticipated on November 2, and Rishi Sunak will stay in his role until his successor is selected
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