Former Army Colonel Tom Tugendhat lashed out at the state of the Tory Party as he launched his campaign today.
The Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman issued a scathing verdict on the Conservatives as they hold their third battle for No10 in six years.
The latest leadership battle was triggered after Boris Johnson finally announced he would resign after his premiership became engulfed in sleaze scandals.
Mr Tugendhat blasted the image of the party, which he said had been “charged with the mission of advancing the interests of the British economy and the British people”.
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Highlighting the cost of living crisis, he told guests the Tories had been “divided and distracted” when they should have been “united, responsive, and committed to the future of our people”.
He added: “In a moment that is so desperate for so many - and when our service is most needed - we have retreated.
“We have retreated into the pettiness of a politics that is more about personality than principle, we have retreated into division when we desperately need unity.
“When our nation needed our party to function, we retreated into faction.
“When the moment demanded service, we delivered scandal.”
Promising “leadership with a renewed sense of mission”, he said the UK was “at a crossroads … faced with some daunting challenges at home and abroad”.
He added: “We need serious leadership - we need to tackle the cost of living crisis, we need a 10-year plan for growth, we need bold leadership to deliver a return to service I am ready to serve.
“I am ready to lead - we need a clean start.”
But he was forced to deny joining the race to position himself for the Foreign Secretary job.
“I did not enter this race for any other purpose than to champion the values that I stand on and to lead the country that I love,” he said.
“This is not a compromise position, it’s not a negotiating strategy - this is a plan and we’re going to deliver it.”
