Tom Tugendhat joins race to be next Conservative leader

FORMER security minister Tom Tugendhat has said he was running to become leader of the Conservative Party, which lost the general election to Keir Starmer's Labour Party after being in power for 14 years.

Britain's Conservative Party is set to name its new leader on November 2 after its worst-ever election performance prompted former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to say he would stand down.

The leadership contest will see the party narrow the field of nominations to four candidates who will make their case at the Conservative Party conference. The nominations will then further narrow to two candidates after which party members will vote for a leader.

"The Conservative Party can win the next election. Trust me. I will make it happen." Tugendhat wrote in an article for the Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday as he joins race to replace Sunak.

"We lost the trust of the British people, because we didn't do what we said we would," Tugendhat wrote in reference to the election. "We must secure our country's future for the generations of today and tomorrow," he added.

Tugendhat's announcement came a day after former British foreign minister James Cleverly said he was running to be the leader of the Conservative Party. (Reuters)