Tom Tugendhat: Who is the Conservative MP who aspires to be the next Prime Minister?

A day after Boris Johnson succumbed to the inevitable and resigned following a deluge of resignations, popular Tory MP Tom Tugendhat was quick to declare his intention to enter the race to become his successor .

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Tugendhat, 49, said: "I am forming a broad coalition of colleagues who will bring new energy and new ideas to government and, finally, will bridge the Brexit divide that has dominated our recent history.

"I have served before - in the military, and now in parliament. Now I hope to answer the call again as Prime Minister. It's time to start clean. It's time to renew."

Attorney General Suella Braverman had already signaled her own intention to stand during a Wednesday night interview with ITV's Robert Peston even before Mr Johnson's departure, downfall instigator Rishi Sunak has since followed suit.

Campaigns are also expected from other party bigwigs, including new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, l 'former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and possibly Steve Baker, Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt.

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Tom Tugendhat has become the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring

Tory MP Damian Green has already come out in support of Mr Tugendhat's candidacy, agreeing: 'We need a fresh start, from a fresh start we need to tackle the reboot of the Conservative Party and the broader reboot of government in this country so that it becomes properly run again, respecting conventions, supporting the institutions that we have in this country."

Mr. Tugendhat, who also signaled he was ready for a leadership challenge in January when the Partygate scandal first appeared to engulf Mr Johnson, was born in London on June 27, 1973, the son of the Justice of the High Court Sir Michael Tugendhat.

He attended St Paul's School in the capital before enrolling at Bristol University to study theology and undertake an MA in Islamic Studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, later learning Arabic at Yeme n.

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