Two high-profile former MPs have backed a Kent politician to become the new Conservative Party leader.

Damian Green and Steve Baker have expressed their desire for Tom Tugendhat to replace Rishi Sunak as the party’s new head.

Despite losing their seats in Ashford and Wycombe at this year’s general election, both remain important figures within the Tory Party.

Mr Green, 68, was previously chairman of the One Nation Conservative group, as well as First Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017.

Meanwhile, Mr Baker, 53, served as Minister of State for Northern Ireland between 2022 and 2024 and is also the former leader of the European Research Group (ERG).

In a joint interview with The Telegraph, they say Mr Tugendhat, who has been MP for Tonbridge since May 2015, would “deliver the leadership” the party needs.

It comes after Labour Party scooped a huge landslide victory in Westminster earlier this month - a result which saw the Tories suffer its worst electoral defeat in history.

They explained: “We ought to choose to transcend old divisions of Leave versus Remain, One Nation versus Right.

“We cannot spend the next five years in recriminations over the past 10. We cannot spend our time in opposition seeking to expel one wing of the party or another.

“Some colleagues’ tone often meant that we were cast as a ‘hard-right’ party or the ‘nasty’ party, leading voters to turn against us or to whichever party in their area was most likely to rid them of us.

“That won’t do. Our leader must be someone who can communicate robust ideas with resolve and humility so that the nation is carried, not divided.

“For these reasons – not despite but because we are from different wings of the Conservative Party – we both see Tom Tugendhat as the individual to deliver the leadership we need.”

Mr Tugendhat has not formally declared his intentions and has chosen not to say anything publicly regarding whether he plans to stand to replace Mr Sunak.

Despite a leadership battle being on the cards, there is not yet a new 1922 committee to oversee one.

Media reports suggest the 51-year-old will make a second tilt for the role and pitch himself as a unity candidate.

Mr Tugendhat has previously put himself forward as leadership candidate to succeed Boris Johnson in 2022.

However, he was squeezed out in the third round of voting by MPs.

The former security minister has though, in recent days, taken to social media to attack Labour, accusing it of not having a plan for either the NHS or for dealing with the small boats crossings, as well as warning voters of the costly consequences of constitutional tinkering.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Over the next five years, do you want the state to have more control over your life?

“That’s the question that will be the difference between our country succeeding or not.

“Labour and the SNP think that government should decide how you live your life. I disagree.”

The MP saw his majority secured at 20,517 votes on July 5 when he defeated rivals Lewis Bailey (Lab) on 9,351, and the Green’s Anna Cope on 7,596.

Other senior figures rumoured to be launching leadership bids include former ministers Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, plus former cabinet minister Dame Priti Patel.