Suella Braverman says 'no announcements' yet on Tory leadership race

About a handfull of the 121 elected Tory MPs are said to be weighing up their options, as ITV News' Lewis Warner reports

Suella Braverman remained tight lipped when asked if she would join the race to become the next Conservative Party leader.

It comes after the Tories suffered their worst election defeat since the party was founded in 1834, plummeting from 372 seats to 121.

Asked by broadcasters outside her home on Saturday about her potential leadership ambitions, Ms Braverman said: "No announcements. We’ve just got to take our time, we’ve got to figure out what the situation is."

The former home secretary continued: “It’s been a really bad result. There’s no two ways about it. Hundreds of excellent Tory MPs have been kicked out of office.”

Suella Braverman is asked whether she will run for Tory leader after a crushing general election result

Ms Braverman was elected as MP in the redrawn constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville with a 6,000 majority.

The former cabinet minister is seen as a strong contender in the leadership contest after many potential rivals lost their seats in the Tory bloodbath.

Ms Braverman is on the right of the party and has suggested the Conservatives should welcome Reform leader Nigel Farage into the party.

She could be vying for the leadership with former home secretary James Cleverly; ex-business secretary Kemi Badenoch; Dame Priti Patel, who served as home secretary between July 2019 and September 2022; Robert Jenrick, who previously served as immigration minister; and ex-health secretary Victoria Atkins.

Former Commons leader Penny Mordaunt and former defence secretary Grant Shapps could have been frontrunners had they not lost their seats in the general election.

It is understood that former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who narrowly held off a Liberal Democrat challenge in Godalming and Ash, has ruled himself out of the race.

His refusal to run may come as a disappointment to Tory centrists who want to prevent the party lurching to the right.

Tory MPs usually vote to select the top two candidates to put forward as potential leaders, with the party membership choosing the ultimate winner, although the rules and timeline of the race would be set out by the backbench 1922 Committee.

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