James Cleverly has compared Nigel Farage to Sir Keir Starmer in an extraordinary swipe at the Tories' rivals from the left and right as he launched his Conservative leadership bid.
The former Home Secretary claimed the Reform and Labour leaders were "declinist", and pledged that "our best years can be ahead of us" in a message of optimism as he addressed crowds at the Old War Office in London.
He said: "I don't accept the shared declinism of Starmer and Farage, who both believe that our best days are behind us.
"Starmer thinks it was better before we left the EU, Farage thinks it was better before we joined the EU... They're both wrong.
"I know that our best years can be ahead of us, but only if we replace this useless Labour government... And in order to win again, we need a leader who can unite the party, and I'm the best placed to do that."
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