Conservative leadership contenders were taking stock today after Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons.
Those tipped as potential Prime Ministerial successors from within the Cabinet, such as Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Ben Wallace, gathered in Number 10 this morning to voice their support for Mr Johnson.
Penny Mordaunt, who made headlines yesterday with her less-than-enthusiastic backing for Mr Johnson, was also focused on her day job as a trade minister as she met with US officials.
Outside of Government, however, a close supporter of prominent dissident Jeremy Hunt warned the PM that his leadership feud was ‘not over,’ and that’very rough waters’ were ahead.
They also implied that the subject of who will lead the Conservatives into the next general election remains open.
Following yesterday’s high-drama in Westminster, the Prime Minister told his senior ministers to “get on with the job” at a Cabinet meeting this morning.
Ms Truss, Mr Sunak, and Mr Wallace were in obedient attendance at the meeting, where they were acknowledged for their assistance to Mr Johnson.
If the Prime Minister had been deposed last night, the Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, and Defense Secretary would all have had strong support as potential successors.
Despite Mr Johnson’s hopes of being able to ‘draw a line’ in the midst of the heated speculation over his future, his opponents showed no signs of backing down.
After the former health secretary came out against Mr Johnson yesterday, the PM is facing a new struggle with Mr Hunt, whom he defeated to win the Tory leadership in 2019.
Philip Dunne, the Ludlow MP who ran Mr Hunt’s leadership bid in 2019, stated this morning that he voted with the ex-Cabinet minister against Mr Johnson last night.
He told BBC Shropshire that Mr Johnson had ‘just’ won the confidence vote – by 211 to 148 votes – in order to warn the Prime Minister that his job in Downing Street was still in jeopardy.