Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has said his party needs to go in a new “conservative direction” and win back Reform supporters if they are to overcome their election defeat.

The Tonbridge MP was speaking during a visit to Chatham Town FC’s Bauvill Stadium earlier today (August 23).

The shadow security minister is one of six candidates vying take on the leadership of the Tories, competing against Priti Patel, James Cleverly, Kemi Badenoch, Mel Stride, and Robert Jenrick.

Delivering his pitch to during a visit to the home of the Chats in Bournville Avenue, Mr Tugendhat said voters had rejected the Conservative Party at the general election because they had gone back on their promises and had not delivered during their 14 years in office.

“People chose to stay away because a lot of people, and I understand why, were angry with the last few years of infighting and failing to deliver,” he said.

“Now, we've got to unite and rebuild trust with the British people, and we do that by delivering.

“The Conservative Party needs to go in a conservative direction and it needs to remember that we're the party of the British people.”

Tugendhat added he was the right candidate because his experience in the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq showed he was capable of delivering, and during his time in parliament he claimed he had passed laws cracking down on foreign agents in the UK.

It’s around seven weeks until the Tory membership will be given the chance to vote for the party’s next leader.

A new poll by YouGov of Tory party members puts Mr Tugendhat in second place behind shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, and the presumed right-wing choice, Kemi Badenoch.

When asked who from the list of six candidates should be the next leader, 24% of party members chose Ms Badenoch while 16% opted for Mr Tugendhat, and James Cleverly was the preference of 14%.

Additionally, 19% of those polled said they didn’t know which of the candidates should be the next leader.

Another study, by Ipsos UK, also found 62% of people didn’t care who won the contest, and 36% of Tory members indicated the same way.

Mr Tugendhat said it was this apathy which the party needed to tackle.

He said: “What we need to do is we need to be bringing back Tory voters from all parts. Of course we need those who chose Reform to come back.

“We also need those who chose Labour or the Lib Dems or those who stayed away to come back.

“What we need to do is offer a proper conservative agenda that makes sure that we are investing in people, and that means investing in belonging, investing in place, and giving people that sense of identity, that pride in our community that is so important.”

The current slate of six candidates will be whittled down to two candidates who will then put to the party’s membership to vote on.

MPs will begin to vote when parliament returns in September, with the wider party membership getting their vote in October, with the new leader announced early in November.