Identifying the frontrunner in the now-11-strong field to become the next Conservative leader is a tricky business. But when it comes to naming the candidate with the least hope of success, one name stands out above all others: Rehman Chishti. It is not unfair to say that even to the people of Gillingham and Rainham, whom he has represented in parliament since 2010, Chishti is hardly a household name, and would not have been in the thoughts of many locals if they considered who should replace Boris Johnson. When he entered the Commons aged just 31, the former barrister was named in several profiles as a new MP to look out for, one even calling him a potential future prime minister. But in the years since then Chishti remained firmly on the backbenches, rising no further than a brief stint as a vice-chairman of the Conservative party, and a year as Boris Johnson’s special envoy for religious freedom. It was only last week that he finally achieved ministerial status, becoming a third-tier minister at the Foreign Office, as the mass of resignations that eventually pushed Johnson to resign forced No 10 to draft in a series of newcomers. Born in Pakistan, Chishti grew up in Kent, and after studying law and becoming a barrister spent a period as an adviser to Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister. Back in the UK, he became a councillor, and then an MP. While he backed Johnson to become prime minister in 2019, Chishti resigned as a special envoy in 2020 over the internal markets bill, which gave ministers the power to unilaterally rewrite elements of the Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU.
His prime ministerial bid, which appears based more on raising his profile than any realistic prospect of victory, promises “aspirational Conservatism, fresh ideas, fresh team for a fresh start taking our great country forward”. In a notably low-key launch video, posted to Facebook, the MP stands in the windy countryside, where he discusses arriving in the UK aged six in 1984, unable to speak English, and policies including lower tax and a focus on better mental wellbeing.