The frontrunners looking to lead the Conservative Party

The Conservatives have kicked off a leadership contest after Rishi Sunak led the party to its worst election defeat in history.

- KATE DEVLIN ARCHIE MITCHELL MILLIE COOKE

A string of senior figures have thrown their hats in the ring to succeed the former PM and lead the party through the next five years in opposition. Possible candidates must win the support of 10 Conservative MPs before the Monday deadline in order to make it onto the ballot paper.

With the shortlist to be whittled down gradually until a final four are paraded in front of the party faithful at October’s Tory conference, The Independent looks at the runners and riders to take the reins from Mr Sunak.

Who has officially declared?

James Cleverly

James Cleverly became the first contender to formally launch a leadership bid, promising to unite the warring party weeks after Mr Sunak’s historic defeat.

A former home secretary, he promised to “overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide” and “restore the confidence of the British people in us as a party”. Mr Cleverly’s appeal comes from having served as home and foreign secretary, two of the UK’s great offices of state. He is also seen as more moderate than candidates such as Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, while still taking a hard-line approach to legal and illegal migration.

Odds: 11/2

Tom Tugendhat

One of the great hopes of the One Nation Conservatives, security minister Tom Tugendhat also flew out of the traps to launch his leadership bid just a day after Mr Cleverly.

Mr Tugendhat stood unsuccessfully for the leadership two years ago, placing fifth in the contest which saw Liz Truss take over as prime minister.

He is considered to have grown in stature since then and has had a job in cabinet that he can use to argue he is a serious leader who can take his party through difficult times.

After formally entering the race, he highlighted his track record of delivery, having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, enjoyed a stint as security minister and "stood up to dictators in parliament".