When asked about the “naughtiest thing” he had ever done, Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat responded with a snappy line: “Well, I invaded a nation once.”
In making his case to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister, the former British Army commander sought to draw on his military expertise, having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 49-year-old maintained that despite being viewed as an outsider in the contest for Number 10 since he has never served as a government minister, he has a wealth of ‘leadership’ experience.
The head of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Tugendhat, vowed to be tough on China and Russia.
Additionally, he promised to act on “crippling” fuel charges and to overturn a National Insurance increase.
The married father of two is one of nine Conservative MPs who have formally announced their candidacy for the position of next prime minister.
By submitting her own application within the next 24 hours, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss plans to add more names to the list of competitors.
Mr. Tugendhat was questioned about his lack of ministerial experience when he appeared on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge show on Sunday.
Many of his contenders for the leadership position have served in at least one Cabinet position.
It’s not a management post, but it’s also not an entry-level one, he said, adding that it’s a leadership position.
“And the truth is that I have dedicated my whole career to protecting our nation and overseeing combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“In leading in the area of international affairs, where I have very clearly defended our nation, I have stood up for our nation against Chinese economic threats and against Russian bullying in many different sectors.
“As a result, I was censured by one and violently assaulted by the other.
Yes, this is about managing teams, it’s about laying out a clear plan, and that’s why I want a ten-year economic plan for growth. “And, yeah, I fought for my country and have been assaulted there too,” you say.
During his time serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was injured and at one point had a doctor write a death certificate for him before he unexpectedly reappeared, Mr. Tugendhat also spoke of the “amazing” lessons he acquired.
It was a really long night, he remarked. I was deployed to serve with a remarkable unit of Royal Marines, and I was thrilled to be there.
It was a unique moment that gave me a lot of leadership, unity, and collaboration lessons.
However, despite the fact that we were far from home, I worked with people from Scotland, Northern Ireland, all over England, and all over Wales, which really taught me a lot about our country.
“It was an astonishing education in the wealth, depth, courage, and power of our country and the individuals who make it up,” the author said.
Mr. Tugendhat promised to undo a 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance that Mr. Johnson had enacted to increase spending on the NHS and social services.
The senior backbencher touted his “10-year economic strategy” while promising action on “crippling” fuel charges and that he would be “looking at” the Corporation Tax rate.
However, he dodged queries about how he would pay for his promises or if he supported public sector wage increases in line with the rate of inflation.
The Tonbridge and Malling MP also reneged on his earlier assertion that, in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, all Russian citizens living in the UK may be deported.
The British state must defend these Russian citizens from the dictator in Moscow, he said, and they both deserve and need it.
I have been very clear about dismissing KGB personnel, those associated to it, and those propagandizing on behalf of a brutal government because keeping the British people safe is something we must do as well.
The Transport Secretary referred to the ex-PM Theresa May’s admission that she once ran across wheat fields when she was younger when rival leadership contender Grant Shapps was questioned on the same program about the “naughtiest” thing he had ever done.
I’m honestly not that naughty, he declared. I haven’t performed any cornfields or similar tasks. I’m not a rebel by nature.