20 hopefuls seeking May’s job... and she’s not even gone yet!
THE Tory leadership contest exploded in dramatic fashion yesterday as it emerged up to 20 MPs could try to succeed Theresa May.
In a series of public appearances, ministers and former ministers set out their stalls for the top job, made coded attacks on potential rivals and openly debated the future direction of the party.
One Cabinet minister compared the public jostling for a job Mrs May has yet to relinquish to a ‘ Game of Thrones push for the Iron Throne’.
Yesterday morning, former work and pensions minister Esther McVey announced she would stand, saying the Conservative Party needed a leader who ‘believes in Brexit’.
Former TV presenter and Tatton MP Miss McVey, who quit the Cabinet last year over the Brexit deal, said she had won backing from enough MPs to launch her campaign.
‘I have always said quite clearly if I got enough support from my colleagues, yes I would,’ she told TalkRadio.
Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd sidestepped questions about her own ambitions saying she was ‘incredibly fortunate to be in this role’. But she indicated that she would not support candidates who wanted to scrap the HS2 rail link or who refused to rule out a No Deal Brexit.
On Newsnight last night she complained about MPs making public pitches for the top job, saying: ‘This shouldn’t be some Game of Thrones push for the Iron Throne. We’ve all got important jobs to do. Let’s deliver on those.’
Justice Secretary David Gauke made a major speech in which he warned his party not to embrace Right-wing ‘populism’ and stay a One Nation party instead of ‘yearning for a mythical past’.
He said Brexiteer MPs who claimed Britain could keep the benefits of membership after it left had ‘ left some voters bemused and angry that the
‘Struggle for the soul of the party’
simple Brexit they were promised … has not been delivered.’
He refused to say which Tory MPs he regarded as populist, but his comments will be seen as an attack on Boris Johnson.
Although he refused to rule out running to succeed Mrs May, he said his position was to ‘resist the clamour to stand’.
In an interview, Chancellor Philip Hammond called for Mrs May to be replaced ‘as quickly as possible’ once she confirms her departure. He also said that he would like to stay as Chancellor under her successor but wouldn’t take any other Cabinet job.
Sacked former Aid Secretary Priti Patel positioned herself as an heir to Lady Thatcher in a speech to activists. She described a ‘fundamental struggle for the soul of the Conservative Party’ and advocated ‘greater economic freedom and personal liberty’.
Mrs May is under mounting pressure to set a timetable for her departure amid fears of a Tory wipeout at the European Elections and no sign of a Brexit deal with Jeremy Corbyn.
There could be close to 20 contenders to replace her. Front-runners are thought to be Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Michael Gove. Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt also have organised campaigns.
Rory Stewart, recently promoted to International Development Secretary, has said he wants to be Prime Minister, and Leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom – who came second three years ago – says she is ‘seriously considering’ whether to stand.
Among more junior ministers Liz Truss, Tobias Ellwood and James Cleverly are set to run.
From the backbenches, Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, is seen by some MPs as a possibility as well as Johnny Mercer and Steve Baker.