James Cleverly has called on the Conservatives to “be more normal” in his pitch to be the party’s next leader.
The former home secretary issued the bizarre plea as he made his pitch to succeed Rishi Sunak at the Tory conference in Birmingham.
He said: “Let’s be more like [Ronald] Reagan. Let’s be enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic. Let’s be more normal.”
That triggered a wave of laughter and applause from the party activists in the hall.
Cleverly said he would “sell the benefits of conservatism with a smile” to an electorate which has just handed the Tories the biggest election defeat in their history.
He said: “If we do we can see off the threat from Reform and the Lib Dems and win back Labour, and re-energise those Conservatives who stayed at home at the last general election, get them off the sofa to the ballot box and voting Conservative again.
“And let’s make sure they do it not holding their nose but with a spring in their step and a smile on their face.”
Cleverly’s pitch earned him cheers and a standing ovation from party delegates, who will ultimately decide which of the four remaining candidates will be the Tories’ new leader.
Alluding to the Tories’ abysmal defeat at the ballot box in July, Cleverly also apologised to the party members.
He said: “We need to get back on track but before we can do that, there’s something we need to say: sorry.
“Sorry on behalf of the Conservative parliamentary party who let you down, and we have to be better, much better, and under my leadership, we will be.
“The British people are never wrong. The British people told us to go and sort ourselves out. Let’s not make them tell us again.”
He said: “I hadn’t planned to run for leader, I could have taken the easy option, sat this one out, spent more time with my wife, with my boys, with my Warhammer figures.
“But I went into politics to get things done, not watch from the sidelines, and all the more so after the defeat that we’ve just had, I need to do this for the party that I love and for the country that I love.”
The MP, who has also been foreign secretary and Tory chairman, added: “Don’t let anyone trash our record, be proud of our record.”
A source from Cleverly’s campaign said: “The momentum is well and truly with James. He has always loved conference and the last few days have seen him thrive.”