Dark horse Andrea surging past Gove in battle to take on Theresa
IDS backs her…with 30 Johnson MPs set to follow suit
SUPPORT grew yesteday for junior minister Andrea Leadsom to become Tory leader as the Brexit-backing alternative to Michael Gove.
Mrs Leadsom leapfrogged the Justice Secretary in the race to No 10 after Iain Duncan Smith said he would back her. His endorsement is likely to be replicated by a string of MPs who had backed Boris Johnson.
Bookmakers were quick to install Mrs Leadsom as their second favourite candidate after Home Secretary Theresa May.
Up to 30 former Boris Johnson supporters are set to switch sides to back Mrs Leadsom as early as next week. The rise in support for the mother of three raises the prospect of two women facing each other in the final shortlist.
MPs see Mrs Leadsom as the best option among the Brexit backers, while others see her as a way of preventing Mr Gove from making it into the final two after he was accused of stabbing his ally Mr Johnson in the back.
Former Conservative Party leader Mr Duncan Smith said: ‘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. 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 Duncan Smith added: ‘I know that she is just the right person to lead our country through the negotiations to create the UK’s new relationship with the rest of the world.’
Bernard Jenkin, who is also backing Mrs Leadsom, described her as ‘ a phenomenon’. He added: ‘ Andrea has moved up the betting index to second place. She’s the underdog at this stage, I think – but she’s a strong candidate.
‘Most of the serious thinkers about the European issue are going to support her – and that is testament to her authority.’
The pledges of support came after Mrs Leadsom said the next Prime Minister must be someone who campaigned for Britain to quit the EU. The Energy Min- ister highlighted her credentials for the top job as she won support from Parliamentary heavyweight Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, and the key Out campaign group Leave.EU. Mrs Leadsom, a longtime Eurosceptic, said the country should not be run by someone who had fought to remain. That would rule out the bookies’ favourite, Mrs May. Mrs Lead- som told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘I felt it was better to put my own name forward, because you do need a choice of candidates and it seemed to me that we might end up with only one candidate who had actually supported the Leave campaign.
‘I was thinking about what is in the interests of the country, because to me the clear priority is to deliver on the referendum.
‘We have been given an instruction, we now have to get a grip and get on with it.’
Mrs Leadsom, a star of the Vote Leave campaign with her positive vision for life outside the EU, refused to be drawn on claims that Mr Gove decided to run amid concerns about Mr Johnson’s failure to promise her a top job if he won.
Leave.EU co-chairman Aaron Banks ruled out supporting Mrs May because she had backed Remain, and said Mr Gove had ‘poisoned relations’ among Brexiteers.
He added: ‘We need a clean break and a fresh face.
‘Andrea was the breakout star of the Leave campaign during the referendum – calm, assured and, in contrast to May and Gove, honest; putting the case for Brexit eloquently and passionately. Leave.EU will therefore be throwing its full weight behind Andrea.’