Like most paid up Tory members, I have taken the task of selecting a new leader of our party very seriously.

It is absolutely right that we didn’t break our necks to choose a new leader after our election catastrophe and spent time making sure all of the possible candidates have been properly tested and challenged.

I have listened carefully on what each of them have had to say, even going to a local hustings to hear five speak before the finalists were whittled down. I was also there at the recent Conservative Party Conference where there was a beauty parade of the contenders, all eager to hit the right note in the all-important conference hall.

But for me, there were only ever really two serious players – Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch. And, as it transpires, those are who we have left, with the ballots to members expected in the post imminently.

I really wanted to back Badenoch, having watched her perform well when speaking in Parliament, eviscerating housing minister Angela Rayner with a blistering attack, calling her out for her plans to cover the country in ugly new build homes.

At the conference, though, there was a growing sense that she is a bit of a loose canon, even though I personally feel that her so-called maternity pay gaffe was misinterpreted and overplayed.

Jenrick hasn’t had a perfect pitch for leader either – as was heavily criticised for comments about British special forces “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.

In my view, however, Jenrick has a wealth of qualities that will make him a superb leader of the Conservative Party – not least the fact that he comes from a small town like mine, understands the challenges for those living outside the Westminster bubble and actually seems pretty normal.

But there was one simple sentence – and most likely controversial and hardline to many – that really sealed my support for Robert Jenrick: he has promised to detain and deport all illegal immigrants if he becomes PM.

This is what many of my Conservative colleagues have been absolutely desperate to hear – and can’t understand why a Tory leader hasn’t been so unequivocal about it before.

Obviously it sounds like a simple solution to a complex issue and Jenrick says that it’ll require leaving the European Court of Human Rights to enact his hoped-for policy.

The simple truth is until we have a firm plan for getting a grip of the issue, Reform UK will continue to linger just behind us like an ominous shadow, continue to split our vote and hold on to those who, to all intents and purposes, are our people.

Although the scrapping of the Rwanda deal by Labour was frustrating as it acted as a deterrent for those looking to make the dangerous journey across the Channel, the best message of all would be to properly deal with those who even try it.

“Ah but you live in Middlesbrough,” I hear detractors cry. “Why on earth does illegal immigration matter there?”

Putting aside the fact that small boats is often the biggest issue raised on the doorsteps, I can tell you that due to the much cheaper house prices in our area mean that the local council is often at the upper limit of the amount of asylum seekers that we can accept as per government guidelines.

And as such, this does put a strain on local schools and health services. Even a former Labour mayor of the town pleaded that the number of asylum seekers was shared more equally across the country.

Not only does it put a strain on public services, it also leads to less settled communities. In the town centre, where crime is rife, we need to see people putting down their roots, building their lives and not using it as a stop-gap before moving onto bigger cities.

Immigration can be a truly great thing. Disclaimer: I myself was born in Australia, albeit that my mum is from Middlesbrough. And, of course, in Middlesbrough and across the UK there are many asylum seekers with genuine cases, fleeing awful persecution, and as a caring country we need to consider them carefully.

That’s why we need safe and legal routes for those in desperate need and willing to positively contribute to our society as so many thousands of immigrants do every day.

What we don’t need is a dangerous open door to those who want to try their luck, some, not all, causing criminal chaos on our shores.

I’m reminded of a case I reported on earlier in the year of an asylum seeker – Arez Ali, 28 from Iraq – who caused absolute carnage on Middlesbrough’s streets. A bundle of discarded documents revealed that the asylum seeker came to Britain via Germany and that he’d arrived here illegally before being placed in Bedford and then moving to Teesside.

After a string of offences as long as your arm – including drug dealing, driving without a licence at 100mph and having a dangerous dog that killed another dog – he was granted legal aid, given full access to the NHS and jailed in our prisons. God only knows at what cost. He was eventually refused asylum but it’s not clear if he appealed.

So, yes, my money is on Jenrick. And if he does win I hope he takes the reins of this country sooner than later.