James Cleverly writes for The Telegraph.

The Conservative Party has been the most effective and successful political organisation on the planet. We have formed the government more than any other party in the United Kingdom and consistently delivered for our country thanks to a reputation for good governance, pragmatism and competence.

But the last election showed us that we had lost the trust of voters. They questioned our motives, our ability, and our commitment to delivering for them. That must change.

Over the next Parliament, we must not descend into the infighting, navel-gazing and the internecine manoeuvrings at Westminster that plagued us in government.

In opposition we must be unified and disciplined, resolute in the job of holding the Labour Party to account on their promises. We must raise our standards and show we are willing to take action when we fall short. And we must reconnect with our members and voters.

We need to be a government in waiting. We are not a pressure group or a think tank. Sacrificing pragmatic government in the national interest on the altar of ideological purity is not Conservative. We must ditch the self-indulgent infighting and be ready to deliver when the next chance comes.

This will take dedication, discipline and focus. It starts with choosing the right leader and then backing and supporting them fully, whoever it is.

I am putting myself forward to be that leader because I can unite the Conservative Party and overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide.

As Foreign Secretary I promoted the UK’s interests on the world stage, lobbied internationally to boost support to Ukraine, and I led the UK’s response to Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on Israel, supporting our ally when voices on the Left told us to abandon them.

As Home Secretary I took action to cut net migration by half next year after years of increases, negotiated a treaty with Rwanda and passed the Safety of Rwanda Act.

And as chairman of the Conservative Party, I helped get our campaigning machine in shape so Boris could deliver the best election result we have seen since Thatcher, securing Brexit and defeating the Corbynistas. I know what it takes to unite, deliver, and win.

We need to rediscover confidence that our core values are shared by the British public and present an offer of unity, security, and prosperity. That should be our USP against a behemothic Labour Party, ravaged with ideological incoherence and factional division.

Voters will soon see that Labour don’t share their values and don’t have answers to their problems. Their landslide is a sandcastle – built on the back of our failures rather than enthusiasm for a big, high-tax state.

Starmer is beatable. As they wrestle with the reality of government, their honeymoon period will quickly draw to a close.

But to take advantage of Labour’s inevitable failure, we cannot go chasing after one set of voters at the expense of another, we must have broad appeal. This is how we have won elections before, as we did in 2019, and it will be how we do it again.

We are the natural home of Reform voters who want tough action to control our borders. We are the natural home of Liberal Democrat voters who care about their rural communities. And we are the natural home of the Labour voter who wants to see real economic growth, public services improve and their pay go further. We also need to motivate those who stayed at home to get out and vote for us again.

Over the course of my career, from the Army Reserves to starting my own business, serving on the London Assembly and in two of the Great Offices of State, I have been expressly thinking about what this country needs.

Beyond the obvious that we need to be ramping up defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP as soon as possible, we need to rediscover a national sense of purpose and self-reliance, centred on a British economic dream of aspiration. Stimulation by deregulation rather than subsidy.

Millions more homes closer to jobs, with densification in urban areas, protecting the green belt from urban sprawl. Families much better supported to care for each other. And lower taxes, with a smaller state. We need to support businesses, not the state, to grow the economy. Starmer’s stifling statism will tax us into oblivion.

We need to get back to winning ways, above all, for the British people. Nobody should strive to be the leader of the opposition. I strive to be prime minister.

And my fellow Conservative colleagues must strive not to be shadow ministers, but in government, making decisions around the Cabinet table once again.

I am best placed to get us there.