Race to be next UK leader enters run-off stage with Sunak in front
Liz Truss has moved into prime position to reach the final two in the Tory leadership contest after closing the gap on Penny Mordaunt.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary was attempting to win over supporters of Kemi Badenoch, her main rival on the right of the party, who was knocked out of the race.
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Truss hints at possible Cabinet jobs for newer Tory MPS like Badenoch as she promises a “government of all the talents”.
She writes: “As prime minister, I would unite the party and lead a government of all the talents that includes the best and brightest from across the Conservatives”.
Truss picked up 15 extra votes from Tory MPS in the fourth round of the contest yesterday, putting her on 86 votes, just six short of Mordaunt, the Trade Minister, on 92.
She had been 11 votes behind prior to the fourth round.
Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer, received 118 votes and seems all but certain to reach the final two.
Despite Truss’s momentum, Mordaunt’s backers were insisting that she had the charisma and connection with the Tory grassroots to see her into the run-off to succeed Boris Johnson.
Overnight, the final round of voting among Tory MPS was taking place, with the candidate who receives the fewest votes being knocked out.
Fifty-nine Tory MPS had voted for Badenoch.
Badenoch has been critical of Mordaunt’s stance on gender rights, leaving some to conclude Truss is best placed to pick up her backers.
However, figures close to the former communities minister and
Michael Gove, the former communities secretary who is her most prominent backer, said neither is expected to announce an endorsement before the last vote.
A source close to Badenoch said “rushing to endorse people is a fool’s errand”, while an ally of Gove said he would “take some time to decide” who to back.
Figures linked to the remaining three contenders’ campaigns were said to be trying hard to win over
those of Badenoch’s supporters who have not already announced their preferences.
Given the ballot is secret, there has been speculation that backers of Sunak could try to influence who he would face by voting for the “weaker” of his two rivals. Sunak’s campaign figures insisted they were fighting for “every vote” and discouraging such behaviour, but did not rule out individual MPS independently making such decisions.
Truss has spelt out her final pitch to the party and the country, issuing a “unity” message that she hopes can get her over the line.
In an olive branch to Badenoch’s camp, she writes: “The quality of candidates that have taken part in this leadership race reflects how healthy our party is and how alive with ideas it remains. If I am selected as leader, I will not let my colleagues down and I will not let the country down. Now is the time to unite.”
Meanwhile, Mordaunt announced new policies, including a push to solve Britain’s dentist shortage by allowing more overseas workers to fill the gaps, as she set out her vision for the country.
A six-week summer campaign beckons for the final two, with the next Tory leader and prime minister announced on September 5.
— Telegraph Group Ltd