Sajid Javid and Kit Malthouse become ninth and tenth MPs to enter Conservative leadership race

Sajid Javid has become the latest MP to enter the race to succeed Theresa May as party leader of the Conservatives.

The Home Secretary said he would ensure the UK Government would "get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is renewed trust in our democracy" if he becomes prime minister.

He became the ninth candidate to join the contest just hours after his party suffered its worst national election performance since the 19th century.

The Tories lost 15 MEPs and saw their vote share slump to less than 10 per cent across the UK as millions of their traditional supporters flocked to the Brexit Party.

In a video posted on Twitter, Javid said: "As last night’s results made all too clear, we must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is renewed trust in our democracy.

“We must bridge divides to heal communities, reminding us of our shared values as a United Kingdom…

“I love my country, and my pledge to the British people is to be a leader who is always straight, fighting for their interests. 

“I entered politics to do my best for this country, the country that has done so much for me.

“As prime minister, I would strive to achieve that ambition every single day.”

Housing minister Kit Malthouse has also thrown his hat in the ring to become the tenth candidate.

Malthouse, who served as one of frontrunner Boris Johnson's deputies when he was mayor of London, said he would work to "end the Brexit paralysis" and help draw up a "new social contract" in Britain.

Currently a housing minister and part of the 2015 intake of Tory MPs, Malthouse brokered the so-called 'Malthouse compromise' Brexit plan.

The proposal, thrashed out between Conservative Remainers and Brexiteers, tried to unite warring Tories behind Theresa May's ill-fated Brexit deal by extending the transition period for leaving the EU to negotiate technology-based "alternative arrangements" to the Northern Ireland backstop.

"With some adjustments, my plan still holds," Malthouse wrote in The Sun.

"But while we agonise over Brexit, we must recognise that people’s lives are changing.

"If the Conservative Party is the only thing that stands still, we will struggle for relevance.

"It’s time for a new generation to lead the charge into our future with boldness and vision."

The minister also used his Sun article to pitch himself as a "new face, with fresh new ideas, from a new and talented generation” – and sought to contrast his background with those of his fellow Tory contenders.

"I’m a northern boy who built a business in the Midlands and now represents a stunning part of Hampshire," he said.

"My granddad was a Yorkshire wagon driver, my grandma a teacher, and my mum and dad were the first in their families to go to university.

"My family’s story is one of education, hard work and opportunity, and that’s what I want for everyone."

Malthouse also vowed to do more to boost green technology, tackle youth violence and turn the Conservatives into "the party of well-funded schools" – a thinly-veiled swipe at the UK Government's current record on education.

The two MPs will battle against colleagues including Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey for the Tory crown.