MAYMENTUM!
She’s backed by 88 MPs – including 7 Cabinet ministers
Gove is struggling for support
And dark horse Andrea Leadsom edges past him
Theresa May has leapt in front in the race to be prime minister.
With the Tory leadership race only a day old, she already had the backing of 88 fellow MPs. Her four rivals together can muster only 67.
The Home Secretary is now almost certain to make it to the final vote of party members.
A clearly rattled Michael Gove resorted to personal attacks to try to derail her campaign. The Justice Secretary suggested she lacked dynamism and the thirst for reform.
On another day of Tory infighting in the wake of the shock referendum result:
Brexiteers were swinging behind energy minister Andrea Leadsom;
Mr Gove denied being a traitor for reneging on a vow not to stand against Boris Johnson;
Conservative MPs turned on him, one even suggesting he should be castrated;
The London stock market clocked up its biggest weekly gain for eight years;
Remain campaigners were criticised for talking down Britain’s prospects;
The Tory backbench chief begged the candidates to run positive campaigns. Mrs May won an early boost when George Osborne said he would implement her proposal to scrap plans to get the budget in surplus by 2020.
Her 88 declared supporters last night included seven cabinet ministers. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: ‘Theresa is the best person to lead our exit from the EU so that we reduce immigration and regain sovereignty while protecting our hard won economic growth.’
A poll of Conservative Party members this week gave Mrs May a 17-point lead. Ladbrokes makes her the 4/11 favourite with Mrs Leadsom surging into
second place. iain Duncan Smith, leave campaigner and former cabinet minister, pledged his support for Mrs leadsom.
‘Having known Andrea for some considerable time, i have huge confidence in her strength, her experience, her wide range of capabilities, her calm manner and her ability to achieve objectives even against considerable odds,’ he said.
‘She has warmth, a genuinely human touch and a great sense of humour. And her enormous depth of business experience speaks volumes for her ability to handle pressure.’
Mr Gove won the support of senior MPs including culture Secretary John Whittingdale and education Secretary nicky Morgan but his numbers were last night stuck on 18.
Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen crabb has 21 MPs, while Mrs leadsom is just ahead of Mr Gove on 19. liam Fox, the former defence secretary, trails on nine.
Senior MPs lined up to criticise Mr Gove yesterday after he stunned Westminster by throwing his hat into the leadership ring – despite having previously told Mr Johnson he would support his bid.
Ben Wallace, a supporter of Mr Johnson, suggested he should be castrated. in a tweet, he compared Mr Gove to theon Greyjoy, a character from the tV series Game of thrones, who suffered this fate.
Anna Soubry, a business minister who supports Mrs May, said Mr Gove had ‘behaved appallingly and in his heart he’ll know it’. Veteran former chancellor Ken clarke said the Justice Secretary’s conduct was ‘student union’ politics.
nadine Dorries, a prominent backer of Mr Johnson, tweeted: ‘ i am utterly astounded to discover that some MPs are actually backing Gove. clearly, honesty and honour not a consideration for some.’
Mr Gove responded by turning his fire on Mrs May. ‘What this country needs in a prime minister is not just a cool head but a heart burning with the desire for change,’ he said. ‘What this country needs is not just a plan to make do and mend but a vision to transform our country for the better. i have that vision. the one thing i want to make clear is i believe the person who is PM of the country is someone who argued for and believes in the mandate of the British people.
‘And theresa did not argue for and did not make the case for Britain leaving the eU, and that is a fundamental division of principle between us.’
the cabinet colleagues are said to loathe each other and fell out spectacularly over their responses to the radicalisation of Birmingham schools. Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 committee of tory backbenchers, told the Mail there had been too many personal attacks in the referendum campaign and this must change.
‘it was obvious that this would make it harder to bring the party together afterwards,’ he added. ‘i hope all the candidates in the leadership election will campaign positively.’
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