A former Tory MP said his party needs to hold a members-wide election for the next leader.

But John Stevenson, the former MP for Carlisle, wouldn’t name one person in particular, instead saying that whoever it is ought to stand for core Conservative Party values, such as a strong but not large state, and ‘economic and administrative confidence’.

Various names have been thrown around as to who will take the role of party leader to steer the ship back after a dramatic loss in this year’s general election.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel has this week said she’d stand after being ‘urged to run’ by a fellow MP, and joins other female former cabinet members Kemi Badenoch, former business secretary and the current bookies’ favourite, and Suella Braverman, also a former home secretary, who said losing right-wing votes to Reform demonstrated a large threat to the party’s future.

Other Tories include Tom Tugendhat, former security minister,  former soldier and second favourite with the bookies; James Cleverly, a man of a few former roles from education secretary, foreign secretary, and home secretary; and Robert Jenrick, also a man with a long CV, having served as immigration minister, housing secretary, and health minister in his 10-year parliamentary career.

“At this moment I think the party must have a debate about the direction of travel we want to take, and that can be from a leadership election.” Mr Stevenson said, adding that the party needs more time to decide.

“One area I think we need a big discussion on is policies for all generations, he said, instead of the recent failed strategy to rely on the grey vote only.

He also said the party doesn’t need to look at other parties from where they lost votes, like the Lib Dems and Reform, and should re-establish precisely what it stands for based on its core ideals for the future: “Policies should come from Conservative principles.”