Suella Braverman was the latest candidate to be eliminated from the Tory leadership campaign today, with Rishi Sunak leading the poll but Penny Mordaunt enjoying a strong lead.
After a hectic day at Westminster where Foreign Secretary Liz Truss pleaded with the party’s right wing to rally behind her, Mr. Sunak garnered 101 votes and Ms. Mordaunt 83.
With 64, Ms. Truss was well behind Kemi Badenoch, who received 49. With 32 votes less than before, Tom Tugendhat, who had positioned himself as the moderate champion, is now expected to be the next to go.
Ms. Truss said earlier that she had been “faithful” to Boris Johnson and that now was not the time for “business as usual economic management” in a jab at front-runner Mr. Sunak.
When asked if she was concerned about the threat posed by Ms. Mordaunt, who has unexpectedly entered the race for the top job, she avoided answering.
But allies have removed the mask, calling the trade minister “underwhelming,” “untested,” and unable to “master detail.”
A pivotal moment in the race for No. 10 is approaching, with Ms. Mordaunt appearing to be gaining ground after she received support from 67 MPs as opposed to Mr. Sunak’s 88.
This put her well ahead of Ms. Truss, who had 50, and put her in a strong position to advance to the final run-off vote among Conservative members.
She has been made the bookies’ favourite after shocking polling results revealed that she would defeat any of her competitors in a head-to-head matchup.
Ministers Ed Argar, James Heappey, and Tom Purseglove have been announced by Ms. Truss’ staff as new supporters.
They are hoping that Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch will lose in the voting rounds today and early next week so that her support will skyrocket as a result of their supporters.
The opponents should “recognize the reality of the situation,” according to one source.
After receiving support from the eliminated Jeremy Hunt, Mr. Sunak will aim to increase his current score above 100 in today’s vote and all but assure his place in the top two.
Mr. Sunak claimed he was the finest candidate to defeat Labour at the next election in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today program, but he reiterated his position that taxes cannot be reduced until inflation is under control.
Another candidate, Tom Tugendhat, made light of the fact that he is being courted so ardently by other contenders, saying that it makes him feel like a “Prom Queen.”
In an effort to gain ground, Ms. Truss’ allies launched attacks on Ms. Mordaunt this morning.
Treasury minister Simon Clarke said the nation “needs a leader who is tested and ready,” while Lord Frost said he asked for her to be fired as his deputy and had “grave doubts.”
‘Just because Penny voted for Brexit doesn’t mean she can be trusted to deliver it,’ a campaign source told MailOnline. Can she be trusted to get things done, given how poorly she has performed since Brexit?
At her campaign launch, Ms. Truss pledged, “I certainly won’t be making any negative comments about my other candidates.”
While a source close to Ms. Mordaunt told MailOnline: “Penny has nothing but respect for Lord Frost,” David Davis accused the Foreign Secretary of using the “dark arts.”
He contributed significantly to our negotiations up until the point that he left the government.
“Penny always has and always will fight for Brexit.”
At the Westminster event, Ms. Truss declared that she is “ready to be prime minister from day one.”
We are in a crucial period for our nation, she declared. We cannot continue with economic management that has produced slow development for decades. Now is the time to be courageous.
She declared that it was time to fulfill the terms of Brexit and “win the fight for freedom, at home and abroad” to cries of “hear, hear.”
Despite some of his opponents’ offers of immediate tax cuts, Mr. Sunak resolutely refused to budge, citing the nation’s massive debt load.
“I believe that controlling inflation and preventing it from getting worse is our top economic priority.” Everyone is made poorer by inflation, which is the adversary.
If we don’t take action to combat it now, families will pay more in the long run, particularly if they have mortgages, he warned.
“In this Parliament, I will reduce taxes, but I’ll do it responsibly.”
Because I believe I’m the best candidate to defeat Keir Starmer and the Labour Party at the next election, I don’t lower taxes to win elections; I do it in order to raise them.
Mr. Sunak also refuted the claim that because of his enormous personal riches, he is unable to relate to the problems of common people.
“I assess individuals by their character, not by their money accounts, and I think people can judge me by my conduct over the previous few of years,” he stated.
“Whenever I’ve needed to step in and help folks, I have, and furlough is a great illustration of that,” the speaker said.
But as a Conservative, I would assert, “If I were to become prime minister, I would vigorously argue that I believe in hard work and aspiration.”
He denied allegations that former chief whip Gavin Williamson was directing “dirty tricks” on his behalf, highlighting the fact that Mel Stride has been in charge of the legislative portion of his campaign.
When asked what his role is, Sir Gavin responded, “Like all the Members of Parliament who are on my team, they are talking to colleagues and making the case for my candidacy because they believe that I am the best person to defeat Keir Starmer and the Labour Party and I’m really grateful for all their support.”
With 40 and 32 votes, respectively, former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and attorney general Suella Braverman also advanced from the first round.
Additionally, Mr. Tugendhat, a former Army officer, who represented the moderates, received 37 votes to advance.
Only one of the 358 MPs abstained from voting.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was eliminated from the race after falling short of the required 30 votes, but he has said he won’t be endorsing any particular candidate.
The field will need to be reduced to the final pair in no more than three rounds.
Mr. Tugendhat said he “feels like a prom queen” since rival candidates are courting his support during a press conference this morning, but he reiterated he will not resign.
The MP said, “Where will this go,” when asked why he was continuing the race. I’m not sure; I’m unable to inform you.
But I can tell you that a lot of people are considering their options today and changing their minds about the votes they cast yesterday, and that’s not surprising.
He continued: “I promised to serve, and that’s what I’ll do. It’s up to others to determine whether or not they choose to have me.” at a press conference in Westminster.
“I’m afraid that’s how democracy operates.” But I don’t give up.
Ms. Mordaunt is already under tremendous scrutiny as a result of her new status, and she is being asked whether she has altered her formerly ‘woke’ opinions on trans rights to get support.
Ms. Mordaunt was accused of “telling lies” about her opinions by a supporter of Ms. Truss.
The ally stated, “She is appearing at hustings claiming she never advocated trans rights while she was equalities minister when there are people in government who know it is not true.”
She is lying, and if she enters, she will turn into a jerk and break up the celebration.
Lord Frost, a former minister for Brexit, expressed surprise at her position in the contest for the presidency on TalkTV.
I’ve worked with Penny before… In the Brexit negotiations last year, she served as my deputy more in name than in practice, he claimed.
I’m sorry to say this, but I thought she lacked the attention to detail during the negotiations last year.
She wasn’t always willing to give the European Union stern advice when it was required.
She wasn’t quite entirely accountable, I’m afraid.
She wasn’t constantly in view. I occasionally have no idea of her whereabouts.
And I’m sad that after six months, this became such an issue that I had to ask the Prime Minister to fire her and find someone else to help me.
‘I’m talking solely about my own experience with her, but on the basis of what I observed, I’m afraid I would have significant misgivings about that,’ Lord Frost stated in reference to the necessity for a PM to be ‘tough’ and ‘equipped to lead.’
Mr. Sunak’s victory fell far short of Mr. Johnson’s crushing 114 votes in the first round of the 2019 election, when there were less Tory MPs, in terms of votes received.
According to a YouGov poll, Ms. Mordaunt is the “obvious favorite among party members to become the next Conservative leader.”
When Tory members were asked to choose their favourite candidate, Ms. Mordaunt easily won with at least 27% of the vote.
Ms. Badenoch finished in a distant second place with 15%, followed by Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss, who each received 13%.
The poll also revealed that Ms. Mordaunt, who at first glance seemed to be an outsider, would triumph over any opponent in a run-off.
According to projections, she would have defeated Mr. Sunak 67% to 28%, while Ms. Truss would have defeated him 59% to 25%.
Separate research conducted by Savanta ComRes today, however, highlighted the difficulties Ms. Mordaunt would encounter with the larger electorate.
When shown a photo, only 11% of the general population and 16% of Conservative voters were able to accurately identify her.
Questions were raised about Mr. Sunak when he failed to deliver the decisive blow that his side was hoping for.
The former chancellor still appeared to be on track to advance to the run-off, but it was no longer certain that he would do so with a strong support from his fellow MPs.
Senior Conservatives have cautioned Ms. Truss that she needs to defeat her opponents on the Tory Right if she hopes to make the final run-off.
Last night, euroskeptic MPs were attempting to convince Mrs. Braverman to resign.
She would risk “humiliation,” according to one source, if she tried to go on.
However, her team was adamant that she would continue to fight, with campaign manager Steve Baker declaring: “We have not yet started the war.”
People should not undervalue Suella.
Additionally, Mrs. Badenoch didn’t appear to be giving in. According to a campaign source, “She is going to do it.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of the Conservative Party who is supporting Ms. Truss, urged fellow Brexit supporters to unite behind her last night and issued a warning that dissension could allow Miss Mordaunt to win.
When urging for a “unite the Right” candidate, Sir Iain remarked that if common sense had any influence on the situation, it would be over in a day. Of course it doesn’t, though.