As candidates vie to succeed Boris Johnson, Nadine Dorries has warned that his removal has released the “hounds of hell” and triggered a vicious leadership contest that will see Tories “shredding one other to bits.”
According to The Times, the cultural secretary, who is among the Prime Minister’s staunchest allies, issued a warning to his or her colleagues, advising them to “keep the cabinet sailing steadily and keep the government working smoothly.”
Her request for stability came amid worries that the competition to succeed Johnson might resemble a “Grand National” or eleven enterprises bidding for the same contract.
People will disparage one another in the media. It will be a carnage, she said.
According to supporters last night, one leadership contender, Liz Truss, would position herself as the female Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race—a candidate who can win seats in both the South and the Red Wall.
One of the more than a dozen MPs preparing to run for the position of the next Prime Minister in the coming days is the Foreign Secretary.
Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Ben Wallace, Nadhim Zahawi, Penny Mordaunt, and Tom Tugendhat are other candidates.
While this week’s events seem to have sealed the Prime Minister’s fate, the competition to succeed him has actually been going on for months.
Blue on blue attacks have already started, with Rishi Sunak receiving criticism from a rival who claimed that it was “not evident” from his track record that he had an economic plan or was a tax cutter.
And one Conservative MP added, “As for Sajid [Javid], his resignation speech told you everything you needed to know: we all started wishing him well but within minutes he completely lost the room.
“Another Conservative MP claimed that if Suella Braverman and Steve Baker were allowed to run, “we’re just going to look like the wacky races.”
The MP called Liz Truss “bad, insane, and plainly dangerous to know” in another attack.
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Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, expressed his “sadness” over Mr. Johnson’s departure, calling him a “hero”.
Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, cut short a trip to Indonesia in order to return to the UK, where she is anticipated to announce her candidacy for party leader, positioning herself as a low-tax Conservative who can maintain Mr. Johnson’s electoral alliance.
After admitting that, just 12 hours after publicly urging the PM to continue, he had privately persuaded him to resign, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi received criticism from certain Tory MPs.
Jacob Rees-Mogg attacked Rishi Sunak, claiming that he was “not a successful chancellor, he was a high-tax chancellor,” in the first of what may be numerous blue-on-blue attacks this summer.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, was talking to his family about launching a leadership bid after surveys showed that Tory activists preferred him.
Tom Tugendhat, a former army officer, announced his candidacy and quickly rose to the top of the Tory Remainers’ field.
As he got ready to launch his own party leadership campaign, a poll revealed that Mr. Sunak had the best chance of defeating Labour.
Next week, Labour vowed to hold a formal vote of no confidence, which might lead to an immediate general election.
As Labour leaders hailed the Tories’ self-destructive departure of the guy who consistently defeated them in the polls, a smirking Sir Keir was seen at Wimbledon.
The Kremlin said that Mr. Johnson had been “struck by a boomerang launched by himself” as Vladimir Putin hailed the defeat of an obstinate foe.
Suella Braverman, the attorney general, kept her Cabinet position despite urging the prime minister to resign and launching her candidacy for leadership prior to his resignation.
In a scathing attack on the PM, Sir John Major urged Conservative MPs to quickly remove him from Downing Street.
Senior Conservatives were completing the rules for a formal Tory leadership election that is anticipated to begin the following week and result in a new leader by the beginning of September.
The conclusion of yesterday’s cabinet meeting reportedly involved ministers banging tables in remembrance of Johnson.
Conservatives have been speculating that Johnson would cause problems for whoever won the election in the end.
He is a really charismatic individual, one person said.
He is a well-known person in the globe and a rock star. He won’t vanish into the background, I promise.
Johnson had an 80-seat majority, and one of his supporters said: “I’m unhappy with him. He could have done everything with that majority, but he’s blown it.”
After cutting short a trip to the G20 gathering of foreign ministers in Indonesia yesterday, Miss Truss will arrive in Britain this afternoon.
The minister will make the case that she can hold together the coalition of people who supported Mr. Johnson at the 2019 general election when he won with a landslide majority.
She is already finalizing arrangements for her campaign.
She is well-liked in both the Red Wall and the Lib Dem-facing marginals we need to hang onto, according to a close ally last night.
Miss Truss will claim that she is a “low-tax” Conservative who will “get the economy moving again” in a dig at former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who increased national insurance.
She has a ton of experience and is adept at navigating complicated policy via Whitehall, the ally continued.
She is strong, reliable, and effective.
After exploring a leadership bid with his family, Defence Secretary Mr. Wallace has decided to run for president as well.
The 52-year-old ex-Army officer is anticipated to announce his plans soon.
As a result of a study of Conservative Party members, he has become the front-runner.
In a YouGov poll, the father of three who is divorced came out on top with 13% of the vote, narrowly beating out Miss Mordaunt with 12%, Mr. Sunak with 10%, and Miss Truss with 8%.
Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary who lost to Mr. Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership race, finished in last place with 5%, the same as Mr. Zahawi, the incoming chancellor.
Following the poll, the bookmakers made Mr. Wallace the favorite.
The Member of Parliament for Wyre and Preston North has received praise from all political corners for how he has handled the conflict in Ukraine.
Before being sacked by Mr. Johnson, Miss Mordaunt was the first female defense secretary.
She already has a campaign staff in place.
The wholesale departure that finally undermined Mr. Johnson’s authority began on Tuesday with the resignations of Mr. Sunak and Mr. Javid from the Cabinet.
Prior to the revelation earlier this year that his wife had non-dom status for tax purposes, Mr. Sunak was seen as a front-runner for the Tory nomination.
His establishment of a temporary campaign base in a Westminster hotel was reportedly announced last night.
Grant Shapps, the secretary of transportation, and former health secretary Mr. Javid are reportedly considering running.
Rivals yesterday night boasted that Mr. Zahawi’s campaign was “coming apart” since he accepted the position of Chancellor only to demand the resignation of Mr. Johnson the following day.
However, his associates predicted that he would present himself as a successful former businessman who had overseen the distribution of the Covid vaccination in Britain.
Backbencher and chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee Mr. Tugendhat, a former Territorial Army officer, has already secured the support of several prominent Tories, including Damian Green, Theresa May’s former deputy.
Kemi Badenoch, who resigned as a Levelling Up Minister on Wednesday, was said to be “seriously considering running” last night, it was revealed.
‘Some MPs are pressing Kemi to run, and she has started the process of taking soundings,’ a source close to the 42-year-old, who was first elected to Parliament in 2017.
She is talking to MPs to see what qualities they want in a future leader and to determine if she possesses them.
According to a poll conducted yesterday night, Mr. Sunak is the only front-runner capable of defeating Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, in a head-to-head matchup.
In the JL Partners survey, Mr. Javid, who was three points behind Sir Keir, was his main competitor.