Tom Tugendhat,
Conservative member of Parliament from Tonbridge, was among the first people to
throw their hat in the prime ministerial ring when Boris Johnson resigned. A
former soldier, Tugendhat’s pitch to the people of Britain is a promise to take
them out of the burgeoning cost-of-living function. A backbencher, albeit
prominent, Tugendhat was in the news last year for condemning the fall of Afghanistan
capital Taliban. “This does not feel like defeat, but at the moment it damn
well feels like it,” Tugendhat had said.

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A politician who describes
himself as clean, Tugendhat has promised an unrelenting focus on the
cost-of-living crisis. The most left-wing candidate among the five
Conservatives still in the fray, Tugendhat, however, is looking to slash taxes.
“Taxes, bluntly, are too high,” Tugendhat said.  

Tugendhat is in many
ways, a slightly different candidate. Unlike most others in the fray, Tugendhat
did not serve in Boris Johnson’s cabinet. As such, Tugendhat has a no reason to
defend Johnson’s actions. Unlike other leaders, Tugendhat has had no reason to
justify Partygate and other scandals.

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Back in 2020,
Tugendhat had a lot to say on the climate crisis. He had said the climate
crisis is “one of four biggest challenges.” However, the climate crisis has not
featured in his campaign this time.

Tugendhat was brought
up in London and Sellindge, near Ashford in Kent. He then went on to study
theology at Bristol University. Subsequently, Tugendhat learned to speak Arabic
in Yemen during his master’s degree in Islamic studies at Cambridge University.
He joined the Territorial Army in 2003.

He later rose to
the role of lieutenant colonel, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and received an
MBE for his operational efforts. As a Foreign Office diplomat, he also assisted Afghanistan’s
national security adviser and later worked with the governor of Helmand
province.