TRUSS ALLIES WARN: NO DIRTY BACKROOM DEALS

As surge makes Liz bookies’ favourite to be PM, supporters tell rival camps don’t ‘lend’ votes to fix today’s final ballot

ALLIES of Liz Truss last night warned Rishi Sunak against engaging in ‘dirty backroom deals’.

The Foreign Secretary enjoyed a surge in support in yesterday’s penultimate leadership ballot of Conservative MPs.

But her backers fear the former chancellor’s team may try to ‘fix’ the final vote today to ensure he does not face a candidate from the Tory Right in the run-off decided by party members.

They say she has the momentum to make the last two against Mr Sunak after picking up 15 votes yesterday and closing the gap to Penny Mordaunt to just six. And they pointed to a YouGov survey showing that – head to head – she would beat Mr Sunak by a comfortable margin of 54:35.

A former minister also suggested that Mr Sunak, who he is backing, would

rather face Miss Mordaunt. ‘Rishi vs Liz is going to be the most feared contest,’ said Chris Skidmore. ‘That will be the battle for ideas, a battle of personalities.’

An ally of Miss Truss said her team was working flat out to secure every vote, adding: ‘The Tory Party has had more than enough of macho politics done in dirty backroom deals. We don’t want to see that again tomorrow.’

Another source said Miss Truss was ‘in the driving seat’ although ‘there’s a lot of work still to do’.

Yesterday’s vote left outsider Kemi Badenoch as a potential kingmaker after she was knocked out. Rival candidates were battling to secure the crucial backing of her 59 supporters.

The scramble came as:

■ Tory shop steward Sir Graham Brady was drawing up contingency plans for a further ballot tomorrow if today’s nail-biting vote ends in a tie;

■ Boris Johnson suspended the whip from former defence minister and Mordaunt supporter Tobias Ellwood after he missed a vote of no confidence in the Government;

■ Ukraine’s foreign minister praised Miss Truss’s ‘inner steel’;

■ Rumours swirled round Westminster that Michael Gove had been offered the post of chancellor for supporting Mr Sunak;

■ The BBC revealed plans for a TV debate between the final two candidates next week;

■ Miss Truss pledged to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP – far ahead of the Nato target of 2 per cent;

■ Miss Mordaunt was embroiled in a row with her own department after trying to fast-track the announcement of a trade deal she had been working on;

■ Labour rubbed salt in Tory wounds by releasing a slick attack ad consisting entirely of ‘blue on blue’ sledging by Conservative leadership candidates in the TV debates;

■ Boris Johnson prepared for his final Commons appearance as Prime Minister today.

Mrs Badenoch is on the Tory Right and the Foreign Secretary’s team believe at least 22 of her supporters are sympathetic to Miss Truss’s cause.

In an early sign of success, defence minister Leo Docherty switched from Mrs Badenoch to Miss Truss last night, saying: ‘I’ve seen at first hand her deep experience and sound judgement and know she has a credible plan.’

A Truss campaign spokesman said: ‘Now is the time for the party to unite behind a candidate who will govern in a Conservative way and who has shown she can deliver time and again.

‘Liz has a bold new economic agenda that will immediately tackle the cost of living crisis, boost economic growth and continue leading the global fight for freedom in Ukraine.’

But the contest has been overshadowed by fears it could be undermined by ‘vote lending’ between the rival teams, with suspicions focused on Mr Sunak’s campaign aide Gavin Williamson. Mr Sunak’s team deny underhand tactics – and insist that Sir Gavin has no formal role.

But senior Tories yesterday said Mr Sunak’s supporters were making a ‘ concerted effort’ to block the Foreign Secretary’s chances.

Tory MP Steve Baker, a Truss supporter, said he believed individual MPs were ‘occasionally voting tactically – which they are entitled to do’ rather than doing deals.

Another Conservative MP said: ‘There is a concerted

‘Rubbed salt in the wounds’

‘Now is the time to unite’

effort I think to try to make sure that Rishi doesn’t face Liz in the final.’

But former Cabinet minister David Davis accused Mr Sunak of helping Miss Truss in order to squeeze out Miss Mordaunt.

‘There’s clearly been some transfer of votes, presumably from Rishi to Liz,’ he told LBC Radio. ‘Rishi just reallocated some. He’s got his four or five chief whips that he has in a boiler room to reallocate them. He wants to fight Liz because she’s the person who will lose the debate with him.’

A Sunak- supporting MP denied wrongdoing, saying: ‘We are encouraging every colleague who wants Rishi to win to vote for him.’

Yesterday’s result left the contest finely poised with Mr Sunak gaining only three supporters after the votes of moderate Tom Tugendhat were redistributed. This left him on 118, well ahead of Miss Mordaunt, who picked up votes to move to 92, with Miss Truss narrowing the gap on 86.

Conservative MPs are sometimes called ‘the most sophisticated electorate in the world’.

recently, though, they have acted more like Gadarene swine, hurtling to their own destruction. and drowning not just themselves in an angry sea, but also the fortunes of their party and their country.

By senselessly booting out Boris Johnson, they not only discarded the tory party’s strongest electoral suit – they also triggered an unedifying leadership contest. the candidates are knocking seven bells out of one another – repelling voters and gifting Labour powerful ammunition.

But we are where we are. We must confront the scenario in front of us, not the one we would prefer. so as the field in the leadership race narrows to three, we appeal to tory MPs to please regain their senses.

after last night’s fourth round ballot, it’s blatantly obvious Penny Mordaunt’s centrist campaign is stalling. Given serious concerns about her work ethic and competence, and her evasiveness over supporting extreme trans rights, it’s no surprise warning lights are flashing. these all cast grave doubt on her suitability to be PM.

However, she remains in second place – a whisker ahead of Liz truss. this has led to suspicions that rishi sunak’s supporters will deploy dirty tricks to scupper the Foreign secretary in today’s last ballot of MPs.

Why? Because Miss truss’s campaign is building up a formidable head of steam. the ex-chancellor won’t relish her being on the two-strong shortlist that goes to the membership for a final decision.

But a cynical stitch-up would be an antidemocratic outrage, denying activists a choice between Conservative ideologies.

this paper has always argued the last battle should be between Miss truss and Mr sunak. Both are experienced politicians. Both have deftly handled daunting Cabinet challenges. But Miss truss is a low-tax, small-state tory and Mr sunak is closer to being a third way liberal.

to face the future confidently, it’s imperative the party has that conversation.