London

Mel Stride has become the fourth Conservative MP to throw his hat in the ring to succeed former United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the party leader.

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Stride said he was respected across party lines and could manoeuvre the Tories through the difficult position they find themselves in currently after the general elections. 

"What we know from the general election is that we’re in a very, very difficult place as a party, and I worry about that because I care about my party and I care about my country," said Stride. 

"In terms of trust, I think [the party] needs somebody who is going to be able to unite the party. People are not going to vote for a party that’s at each other’s throats all the time."

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Stride, who previously served as work and pensions secretary said he would hold Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer "forensically" accountable if he is entrusted with the job.  

"I am respected, I think, right across the parliamentary party. I was chair of the Treasury Select Committee, the leader of the House of Commons, all of those things are roles about bringing people together," said the Conservative MP. 

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What's the election process?

The nominations opened on July 24 and each candidate has to have up to 10 MPs supporting their bid if they are to advance to the next round.

In September, the MPs will cast their vote and four candidates will be chosen who will make their pitch to the party. Then two people will be selected for the final round. 

In October, the party members will cast their ballot which will close on October 31 to decide the next Tory leader. 

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Prior to Stride, former Home Secretary James Cleverly, ex-security minister Tom Tugendhat and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick have also announced they are running for the post.

Notably, Cleverly is one of the top choices for the job but his centrist stance on numerous Tory policies could come back to haunt him. To this date, he has not denied calling the Rwanda policy "bats**t" which rubbed certain senior party leaders the wrong way. 

Meanwhile, Tugendhat ran for the top party position in 2022 and finished fifth. Regarded as one of the most centrist leaders, the ex-security minister has chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee previously and could have an outside chance of being Sunak's successor.

(With inputs from agencies)