LONDON

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has launched her campaign to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, making her the 10th candidate to officially declare an intent to run.

Truss, 46, launched her campaign with an op-ed Sunday in the right-wing Daily Telegraph. She is considered to be one of the favorites.

In her article, she wrote: “I am putting myself forward because I can lead, deliver and make the tough decisions. I have a clear vision of where we need to be, and the experience and resolve to get us there.”

“I will fight the election as a Conservative and govern as a Conservative. I will hit the ground running as prime minister, whether it is in ensuring (Russian President) Vladimir Putin loses in Ukraine or getting the economy going.

“Under my leadership, I would start cutting taxes from day one to take immediate action to help people deal with the cost of living,” she added.

Truss is the longest continuously serving member of the Cabinet, having held positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Meanwhile, parliament member Rehman Chishti also launched a bid for the Conservative Party leadership. The 43-year-old was born in Pakistan. First elected to parliament in 2010, he is not a particularly prominent backbencher and is such not expected to win, but his entry into the race shows how wide open the field of candidates is.

Truss and Chishti bring the total number of candidates to 11, with the other nine being International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, chairman of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee Tom Tugendhat, attorney general Suella Braverman, former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.