Tory leadership contest tightens after four candidates make big pitch to party members

The Conservative leadership race was blown wide open as James Cleverly gained momentum after he called for Tories to be “more normal”.

In a speech on the final day of the party’s conference, the former cabinet minister promised an “enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic” vision if he wins.

Mr Cleverly’s pitch saw him close in on frontrunner Robert Jenrick, with Kemi Badenoch in third place followed by Tom Tugendhat according to bookmakers.

He told party members that after running a small business he knew what it was like “to stumble, to fall, but to get up again, and again and again”.

“So when I talk about optimism, it’s not just believing tomorrow can be better than today, it’s doing something about it,” Mr Cleverly added.

He told the conference that his “political hero” Ronald Reagan was “upbeat” even in the depths of the Cold War.

“He made Americans want to vote for a Conservative, not reluctantly, but with enthusiasm,” Mr Cleverly added.

“And what did he do? He cut taxes, cut regulation and boosted military spending. And he won a landslide. Let’s be more like Reagan.

“Let’s be enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic, let’s be more normal.

“Let’s sell the benefits of a Conservative government with a smile, because if we do, we can see off the threat from Reform, and the Lib Dems, and win back Labour voters.”

Mr Cleverly ruled out any deals with Reform UK and insisted the best way to see off the threat from Nigel Farage was by “being the best version of ourselves”.

Ms Badenoch, who started the contest as the frontrunner but has had a difficult party conference, told the grassroots that she is not afraid of criticism because her childhood in Nigerian meant she knew real fear.

The former international trade secretary, who has a reputation for being a straight talker, denied that she enjoys a fight.

She said: “It’s not true: I do not like to fight but I’m not afraid to fight. I don’t fight for the sake of fighting, but I do fight for you.

“Every day of the last parliament I fought for Conservative values.

“I fought for them even when I was told it wasn’t in my interest – I fought for women’s rights to safe spaces and children’s rights to grow up in their own time.

“I fought against those who seek to divide our country based on race, I fought for the future of my three children and for your children.

“I will always fight against left-wing nonsense.”

The North West Essex MP said she wanted to make her Labour rivals in Government “wriggle” and “sweat”.

She criticised “identity politics”, and added: “If you call communism environmentalism, you can close down businesses, block the roads, and stop people going to work.”

Ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat was the first to take to the conference floor and promised a Margaret Thatcher-style “Conservative revolution”.

He insisted the party needs to “focus on what the British people need and be absolutely ruthless about delivering it, from healthcare and immigration to security and education”.

He added: “We need to free the economy. We need a new Conservative revolution. That’s what Margaret Thatcher did. That’s what we must do again, and we can do it.”

He admitted having less ministerial experience than his rivals but vowed to deliver real leadership.

Mr Tugendhat said: “My opponents claim that they have got more management experience around the cabinet table. Sure, it is true, but I am not here to manage, I am here to lead.

“The only way to build trust back is to show real change, and that is the new Conservative revolution that I promise.”