James Cleverly declared “now is not the time for an apprentice” on Wednesday in a speech that put his government experience at the centre of his Tory leadership pitch.
The former foreign secretary and home secretary told the Conservative conference in Birmingham he had done the “hard yards” needed to be a credible future prime minister.
Mr Cleverly’s address also saw him channel his political hero Ronald Reagan’s optimistic rhetorical tone.
“Let’s be more normal”, he told the audience, arguing that an upbeat message, despite the electoral disaster the party suffered in July, could speed its return to office.
The rosy outlook shared similarities with Boris Johnson, the former prime minister known for his “sunlit uplands” rhetoric and for whom Mr Cleverly was a close political ally.
Meanwhile the “apprentice” line had echoes of Gordon Brown’s famous 2008 conference “no time for a novice” put down. The comment was seen as an attack on Tory leader David Cameron – but it was also seen by some as a coded warning to would-be supporters of David Miliband, his Labour rival.
The speech saw bookies improve Mr Cleverly’s odds of making it into the final two when Tory MPs whittle down the field later in October. Members will then pick the winner, to be announced on Nov 2.
The bookmakers Starsports said after the speeches that Mr Cleverly was now the second most likely winner after Robert Jenrick, with Kemi Badenoch in third place.
Mr Cleverly said: “Conference, talk is easy. Doing is hard. And we need a leader who can deliver from day one.
“Someone who has already done the tough apprenticeship to be our Conservative leader and our prime minister.”
He went on to list his political roles: rising from the London Assembly to the Conservative chairmanship and then foreign secretary followed by home secretary.
Mr Cleverly added: “The point is we can deliver for Britain with the right leader, with me as your leader.
“Leadership is making the right decisions when you get that ugly phone call in the middle of the night to keep this country safe.
“And because I have been there, I know in detail what the Government should be doing right now and in detail how they’re failing. Now is not the time for an apprentice.
“I’m not doing this because I want to be something. I’m doing this because I want to do something. Renew, yes. Rebuild, yes. To deliver for our party first, yes. But then for our country.”
The speech built on Mr Cleverly’s central argument that he is the candidate the wider public most likes given his centrist instincts. and the candidate Labour most fears given his experience.
He said: “When I talk about optimism, it’s not just believing tomorrow can be better than today, it’s doing something about it.
“My political hero, Ronald Reagan [the former US president], knew what optimism was. Even in the depths of the Cold War he was upbeat.
“He made Americans want to vote for a Conservative, not reluctantly, but with enthusiasm. And what did he do? He cut taxes, cut regulation and boosted military spending. And he won a landslide.
“Let’s be more like Reagan. Let’s be enthusiastic, relatable, positive, optimistic, let’s be more normal.
“Let’s sell the benefits of a Conservative government with a smile, because if we do we can see off the threat from Reform and the Lib Dems, and win back Labour voters and re-energise those Conservatives who stayed at home at the general election.”
He also referenced Mr Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” slogan, captured in an advert for his successful presidential re-election campaign in 1984.
Mr Cleverly ended by vowing to “turn the page on this Labour Government, look to the future and say with one voice that it’s morning again in this great country of ours.
“That must be our mission. That must be our purpose. Join me on this journey and together we will win and we will be in the business of the future.”