Centrist Tory MPs back Tom Tugendhat as potential next PM

Centrist Tory MPs turn to ex-soldier, critic of the Government and China hawk Tom Tugendhat to be Boris Johnson’s successor – but PM’s allies have cruelly nicknamed him ‘Tom Tugentw*t’ and others fear he lacks experience and could be TOO POSH for top job

  • Some centrist Tory MPs believe Tom Tugendhat should be next prime minister
  • Mr Tugendhat is a former soldier, China hawk and vocal critic of the Government
  • He is viewed as an outsider in the potential race to replace Boris Johnson as PM
  • Some Tory MPs fear that Mr Tugendhat lacks the experience for the top job  

Centrist Tory MPs are turning to former soldier Tom Tugendhat as their choice to take over from Boris Johnson, as the Conservative Party braces for a potential leadership contest. 

Mr Johnson continues to fight for his political life over the Partygate scandal amid fears in Downing Street that the eventual publication of an official report into Whitehall gatherings will prompt a vote of no confidence in his leadership.  

If Mr Johnson lost that vote the race to succeed him would be officially triggered and Tory MPs are now actively considering who would be best placed to be the next prime minister. 

Mr Tugendhat, a vocal critic of the Government and a China hawk, is viewed as an outsider in the potential contest, trailing the frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. 

But some Conservative MPs believe the current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee would be well-suited to the role and represents the ‘best chance for a fresh start’. 

However, some are concerned the 48-year-old, who has never served as a minister, lacks experience and could be viewed by voters as too posh for the premiership. He is the son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer.

Centrist Tory MPs are turning to former soldier Tom Tugendhat as their choice to take over from Boris Johnson, as the Conservative Party braces for a potential leadership contest

Mr Johnson continues to fight for his political life over the Partygate scandal amid fears in Downing Street that the eventual publication of an official report into Whitehall gatherings will prompt a vote of no confidence in his leadership

Tom Tugendhat is a former soldier who as a Tory MP has become one of the most vocal critics of the Government. 

The 48-year-old was first elected as the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in 2015 after a lengthy career in the Armed Forces. 

The married father-of-two served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before leaving the military in July 2013.

He was a member of the Territorial Army when the Iraq War broke out in 2003 and he was mobilised as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer to serve with the Royal Marines.  

He then went to Afghanistan in 2005, finishing his last patrol in July 2009.

He worked for the Foreign Office and helped set up the National Security Council of Afghanistan and the government in Helmand Province. 

He later served as military assistant and principal adviser to the chief of the defence staff.  

Mr Tugendhat grew up in London and in Kent before studying theology at Bristol University. 

He later studied for a master’s degree in Islamics at Cambridge University and after graduating he worked as a journalist in Beirut.   

In Parliament, Mr Tugendhat has never served as a minister but he has been the chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs Select Committee since 2017.  

Mr Tugendhat, who is married with two children, has previously made clear that he would fancy a tilt at the top job, saying in 2017 that it would be ‘great to be PM’.

He is viewed in Westminster as a potential leadership candidate who centrist and moderate Tory MPs could swing in behind. 

A former Cabinet minister told The Guardian: ‘Tom would be my first choice. 

‘I think a lot of people think he would be the best chance for a fresh start with someone who has a lot of relevant experience and deep thinking.’

One senior Conservative MP told the newspaper it would be ‘a relief, by all accounts, to have someone like that in the job’. 

A serving minister backed Mr Tugendhat to run for the leadership but warned Tory MPs would likely need to be persuaded that he has domestic policy ideas.

They said he would ‘need to convince other colleagues he’s got any sort of domestic policy ideas whatsoever’ because MPs already know ‘what he thinks about China or Afghanistan’. 

Mr Tugendhat and Mr Johnson have a somewhat strained relationship, with the pair having repeatedly clashed during select committee hearings. 

Some of Mr Johnson’s allies are critical of Mr Tugendhat because of his pointed criticism of the Government, most recently over its handling of the exit from Afghanistan. 

Reports recently claimed that Chief Whip Mark Spencer had dubbed the senior Tory MP ‘Tom Tugentw*t’. 

Mr Tugendhat has been the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent since 2015, joining Parliament after a long military career which saw him serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was asked in 2017 if he wanted to be PM and he replied: ‘Of course. I bought a ticket so why wouldn’t I want to win the lottery?’ 

In a separate interview published in October 2017, he said: ‘Would it be great to be PM? Yep, it would be. Would it be great to be Foreign Secretary? Fantastic.

Mr Tugendhat, a vocal critic of the Government and a China hawk, is viewed as an outsider in the potential leadership contest, trailing the frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss

‘Would it be great to be Defence Secretary? Wonderful. Would it be great to be a minister of any kind? Yes, because all of those opportunities to serve are very much winning a lottery in what is frankly a fantastic opportunity to serve our country in a different way.’

Mr Tugendhat has become one of the most vocal critics of the Government during his time in Parliament, particularly on the issues of China and Afghanistan. 

He repeatedly blasted the Government’s handling of the UK’s exit from Kabul last year. 

In October 2021 he slammed senior civil servants and ministers for going on holiday during the Afghanistan crisis. 

And in August he had also turned his fire on the US administration as he said of the exit: ‘This is what defeat looks like.’ 

He was applauded in the same month in the House of Commons after delivering an emotive speech in which he recalled his own experiences in the country.  

He said at the time that he had struggled through ‘anger, grief and rage’ over the withdrawal from Afghanistan and noted he had previously watched ‘good men go into the earth, taking with them a part of me and a part of all of us’.

Mr Tugendhat has repeatedly urged the UK Government to take a tougher stance on China over human rights abuses.

Some Conservative MPs believe the current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee would be well suited to the role and represents the ‘best chance for a fresh start’

He co-founded the China Research Group of MPs in April 2020 to ‘promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China’.  

He was one of nine UK individuals to be hit with personal sanctions by Beijing last year as the regime hit back over criticism. 

He and his committee had repeatedly called on the Government to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing which are due to be held in February this year. 

The UK announced a diplomatic boycott of the games in December last year after months of mounting pressure.

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