Rishi Sunak suffered a body-blow today as a poll found the Westminster front runner would lose to Penny Mordaunt or Liz Truss in a run-off ballot of Tory members.
As MPs started voting in the first round of the leadership contest – with the result due at 5pm – YouGov research suggested Ms Mordaunt is the overwhelming favourite of activists.
The trade minister – who has appeared a relative outsider – would defeat any competitor in a run off, according to the survey. The margin against Mr Sunak was projected to be 67 per cent to 28 per cent, while the former Chancellor could lose 59 per cent to 25 per cent against Ms Truss.
Although the race is still at a relatively early stage, the dramatic results could blow it wide open and cause MPs to rethink their approach.
Ms Mordaunt officially launched her leadership bid today vowing to restore the Tories’ ‘sense of self’ – but also bizarrely batted away a row over her ‘woke’ gender stance by stating she does not have a penis.
In a slick performance at an event in Westminster, Ms Mordaunt said she is the ‘candidate that Labour fear’ and adding: ‘They are right to.’
But Ms Mordaunt was also forced to address Tory jibes about her liberal views on trans rights. She quoted Margaret Thatcher’s line that ‘every PM needs a Willie’ – a reference to her deputy Willie Whitelaw – and said: ‘A woman like me doesn’t have one.’
Allies of Ms Truss have been urging other candidates whose campaigns have run out of ‘energy’ to pull out and back her as a unity candidate for the right.
The comments came as Mr Sunak added a key Boris Johnson ally to his roll call of backers today, with Tories bracing for more blood letting in the first round of voting.
Of the eight candidates left only Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt have enough declared backers to survive today’s ballot, after party chiefs set a minimum of 30 to progress. Liz Truss is expected to have enough support, but MPs suspect four might fall by the wayside today.
Running the gauntlet of PMQs for the first time since announcing his resignation, Mr Johnson set hares in motion by suggesting his successor could be elected by ‘acclamation’ by MPs next week – rather than Tory members getting a say on the final two.
Meanwhile, former Chancellor Mr Sunak has secured an endorsement from new Health Secretary Steve Barclay as his campaign pushes to make victory look ‘inevitable’.
But his rivals are increasingly turning their fire on the front runner, accusing him of ‘dirty tricks’ by lending votes to candidates he is confident of beating and paying lip service to policies such as scrapping the BBC licence fee.
One source on a rival camp told MailOnline that Mr Sunak’s team including former chief whip Gavin Williamson were trying to ‘bounce’ the party and it could ‘backfire’.
‘There’s nothing people like less than feeling like they are being bounced into something over which they don’t have any control,’ the source said. ‘It could massively backfire. Our MPs also really really dislike the idea that they are being played quite so obviously – which is clearly what Gavin and crew are up to.’
As the temperature rose again today, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi risked a backlash by suggesting he would offer Mr Johnson a Cabinet job if he wins.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been gaining backers, with Brexiteers Iain Duncan Smith and Mark Francois lining up behind her.
Trade minister Penny Mordaunt officially launched her campaign in Westminster this morning, joking that she had been ‘speed dating’ MPs.
‘Recently I think our party has lost its sense of self,’ she said.
She added: ‘I’m the candidate that Labour fear. And they are right to.’
Ms Mordaunt ‘I am very different from Boris Johnson but we are still on the same manifesto, and I think we both believe in the same things.’
Ms Mordaunt also only gave a lukewarm response when asked if Mr Johnson was a good PM.
‘I think we should thank him for delivering Brexit – it was an incredibly difficult thing to do – and I think we should remember him for that,’ she said.
Mr Sunak has come under heavy fire for dismissing the idea of immediate tax cuts, but tried to paint himself as a Thatcherite today.
He told The Telegraph that his economic vision amounted to ‘common sense Thatcherism’ and insists ‘you have to earn what you spend’.
But Nadine Dorries last night accused Mr Sunak of ‘dark arts’ and ‘dirty tricks’ amid claims that some supporters had been told to help Jeremy Hunt pass the first hurdle.
Jacob Rees-Mogg was another ally of Mr Johnson to tear into the ‘disloyal’ Mr Sunak, claiming that his choice Ms Truss had ‘consistently in Cabinet opposed his tax hikes’ in recent months.
Along with Mr Sunak, Ms Mordaunt, Ms Truss, Mr Zahawi and Mr Hunt, Tom Tugendhat, Suella Braverman, and Kemi Badenoch made the nominations threshold.
The first vote will be begin at 1.30pm, with the results due shortly after 3.30pm.
The candidates require backing from at least 30 MPs out of the 358 total to survive into the second round on Thursday.
At least the lowest-placed contender will be eliminated in each ballot until two remain.
They will then be put to party members in a postal ballot, with hustings held across the UK during August.
The new leader will be announced on September 5, becoming PM the following day.
As the political drama gathers pace at Westminster today:
- Keir Starmer has goaded Boris Johnson at PMQs that he must be ‘demob happy’ after being ousted by Tory MPs, but the premier shot back that any of his potential successors will ‘wipe the floor’ with Labour;
- Michael Ellis, Stephen Crabb and Andrew Jones have declared their support for Mr Sunak as his open backers top 50;
- Ms Mordaunt is launching her campaign pledging a ‘childcare budget’ for families;
- Mr Zahawi has admitted that tax cuts should not happen until rampant inflation is brought under control;
- Mr Tugendhat has swiped at leadership candidate who will not commit to big increases in defence spending, although he refused to confirm he was criticising Mr Sunak;
- Mr Zahawi’s www.NZ4PM.com campaign website seems to have been hijacked by Ms Mordaunt’s campaign as it redirects to her site;
- Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng claimed ‘even the Prince of Wales was interested’ in the Tory leadership election as he mingled at a drinks reception at Buckingham Palace;
- The UK economy defied fears of a looming recession by surging 0.5 per cent in May.
Rishi Sunak was given food for thought today will polls despite heading the list in the Tory leadership ballot stakes
Penny Mordaunt gave a slick performance at an event in Westminster, saying she is the ‘candidate that Labour fear’ and adding: ‘They are right to.’
YouGov poll found the run-off margin for Penny Mordaunt against Rishi Sunak could be 67 per cent to 28 per cent, while the former Chancellor could lose 59 per cent to 25 per cent against Liz Truss
Minutes before MPs started voting in the first round of the leadership contest, YouGov research suggested Ms Mordaunt is the overwhelming favourite of activists
Mr Sunak, seen as one of the favourite candidates to replace Mr Johnson, has said his economic vision amounted to ‘common sense Thatcherism’
As the temperature rose again today, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi (pictured) risked a backlash by suggesting he would offer Mr Johnson a Cabinet job if he wins
The eight would-be PMs are continuing to rack up public declarations of support from MPs today. But until the results of the first round of voting are announced at 5pm, the scale of backing for each has become difficult to establish. Several of those in the ballot made it through despite not having enough public endorsements from colleagues to meet the 20 nominations threshold. Rishi Sunak still appears to be well in front, having passed the 50 mark in open supporters. However, beyond that the scale of each candidates’ following is hard to gauge.
During their PMQs clashes, Mr Johnson said: ‘The next leader of my party may be elected by acclamation so it’s possible this will be our last confrontation… it’s possible.’
Mr Johnson defended his record on Brexit, infrastructure projects and supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
‘It’s perfectly true that I leave not at a time of my choosing, absolutely true,’ Mr Johnson said.
‘But I am proud of the fantastic teamwork that has been involved in all of those projects both nationally and internationally, and I am also proud of the leadership that I have given.
‘I will be leaving soon with my head held high.’
Mr Johnson dismissed Sir Keir’s barbs at the Tory leadership contest by saying: ‘I think, if possible, he is referring not to me, but to some of the eight brilliant candidates who are currently vying for my job…
Mr Johnson went on: ‘Anyone would wipe the floor with Captain Crasheroony Snoozefest. And after a few weeks’ time, that is exactly what they will do. They will unite around the winner and they will do just that.’
Downing Street played down the significance of Mr Johnson’s comments.
The PM’s press secretary said: ‘As things stand, he will still be doing PMQs in his last week.’
No10 denied it is running an anti-Rishi Sunak campaign to prevent the former chancellor succeeding Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Asked if the PM was involved in a ‘stop Sunak’ operation, the press secretary said: ‘No.’
Pressed if No10 is still supportive of Mr Sunak, she added: ‘We’re not getting involved in any leadership conversations.’
Asked if he was disappointed that Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg endorsed Liz Truss in Downing Street, the press secretary said: ‘He’s staying neutral in this contest.’
Warning about Mr Sunak’s economic policy yesterday, Mr Hunt told LBC radio: ‘Rishi Sunak is… increasing corporation tax and it will be higher than not just America or Japan, but France and Germany as well.
‘And I’m worried that on our current trajectory, we’re heading into recession, and we’ll be there for too long…
‘I was very worried when he announced his budget… The thing that struck me was this slashing of the growth forecast for next year.’
Former health secretary Sajid Javid – who triggered the coup against Boris Johnson by resigning last week – dropped out last night after falling short of the 20 endorsements from Conservative MPs needed to feature in the first round.
Home Secretary Priti Patel also withdrew and refused to say who she will be backing, but her exit is a potential fillip to Ms Truss’s campaign.
Surprise candidate Rehman Chishti also conceded defeat shortly before yesterday’s 6pm deadline after securing no supporters.
Mr Barclay became the latest big-name backer for Mr Sunak, saying ‘he has all the right attributes to take our country forward’.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been out batting for the front runner on the airwaves, saying he was ‘clearly a guy who is fiscally conservative, wants to get the debt and deficit down, who wants to get the debt falling as a proportion of the overall economy – the idea that this is a socialist is clearly not true’.
Mr Sunak used a Daily Telegraph interview to claim his economic vision amounted to ‘common sense Thatcherism’.
He insisted that he would take a more responsible approach to tax cuts.
‘We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done.’
Mr Sunak also indicated that he would not lift the ban on new grammar schools nor the hunting ban.
And he declined to back an increase in defence spending – something that other hopefuls including Mr Tugendhat and Mr Hunt have been pushing.
Mr Zahawi was questioned about his plans to cut taxes, denying he was relying on a ‘magic money tree’ to fund his plan.
The Chancellor has pledged to reduce basic rate income tax by 1p to 19p in 2023 and then again to 18p in 2024.
He has also promised to scrap a planned increase in corporation tax and remove VAT and green levies from energy bills for two years.
‘This is a fully costed plan,’ Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4’s Today. ‘You will see I demonstrated in every job I’ve had that I deliver, whether it’s vaccines, or the Department of Education.
‘I will do the same thing: I will evidence it and you will see it and I will come on your programme and show it to you if I am prime minister.’
He acknowledged that Mr Sunak is the frontrunner in the leadership race, but insisted he could still make up ground on his rival.
‘Colleagues will be making their minds up… a lot of undeclared colleagues remain. Rishi out in the lead, no doubt. He is a very talented man, he would make a great prime minister,’ he told Sky News.
‘But I think I can deliver. I am the man who has a track record of operational competence. I have the track record of delivering the (Covid) vaccine.’
Mr Zahawi also suggested he would offer Mr Johnson a job if he wins the keys to Downing Street.
He told LBC radio: ‘Boris Johnson is a friend of mine of 30 years. If he wishes to serve in Cabinet, I would certainly offer him a job.
‘He has been probably the most consequential Prime Minister of his generation. He has delivered Brexit.’
Mr Hunt described claims he had been lent support by Mr Sunak as ‘absolute nonsense’.
He pointed to how each of his 20 supporters had to sign his nomination form – and so he would have been aware of any who had not been previous supporters.
After some speculation that he might not make it through to tomorrow’s first ballot, Mr Hunt revealed he had reached the threshold of 20 MPs ‘quite comfortably’ in the end.
Sources close to Mr Sunak described the Ms Dorries’ accusations as ‘complete nonsense’ and a ‘dirty story being spread by anti-Rishi people’.
As the mudslinging intensified, Business Secretary Mr Kwarteng attended an event hosted by Charles for recipients of The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise at the palace.
The Conservative MP was among a line of people who greeted Charles as he arrived, and as they chatted Mr Kwarteng appeared to make the remark.
Asked about the exchange later on, Mr Kwarteng said: ‘It’s kicking off, the leadership, even the Prince of Wales is interested in the Tory leadership.
‘We do this every three years – but there you go.’
And speaking on his podcast for the ConservativeHome website, Mr Rees-Mogg insisted there was ‘a problem with the timescale of the leadership election’ as he took a swipe at Mr Sunak.
‘Those who have been disloyal to the PM have had plenty of time to set up their campaigns,’ the Cabinet minister said.
‘Those who have undermined the PM, sometimes by actually running – dare I say it – not a very successful economic policy, have had six months or more where they have been cogitating, mulling, considering their next steps.
‘Where people who have been loyal to the PM, of course, haven’t.
‘Because people who have been loyal to the PM wanted him to carry on and therefore weren’t considering a leadership campaign.
‘And I think there is a difficulty that haste favours the disloyal, rather than the loyal.’
A ConservativeHome survey has suggested that Mr Sunak would lose to his main rivals in a head-to-head run-off
The runners and riders in the race to succeed Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak
- Super-rich father of two
- Married to Indian heiress
- Chancellor throughout the Covid pandemic
- Oversaw huge public spending
- Has pledged to cut taxes only when inflation and the economy are under control
- Bookies odds: 6/4 Favourite (William Hill odds)
In a slick campaign video launched on Friday, Mr Sunak announced his leadership bid with the message: ‘Let’s restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country.’
One of the main front-runners the former chancellor’s rise from relative obscurity to household name came as he turned on the spending taps to protect jobs through the furlough scheme when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
His calm and measured delivery during televised Covid briefings, and his viral declaration of love for a popular soft drink, will have endeared him to those perhaps not always plugged in to the political goings-on, as well as his resignation on matters of principle on Tuesday.
A Brexit supporter from the off, he has attracted more than 30 declared supporters so far from within the Tory ranks, including from serving and ex-ministers Mark Spencer, Oliver Dowden and Robert Jenrick.
However his stock has taken a tumble recently following disclosures that his wife had non-dom status for tax purposes, while she lived in Downing Street, and he held on to his US green card while serving in Government.
He has become the man to beat in the leadership race, and has already been the focus of concerted mud-slinging.
There have been claims that allies of Mr Johnson are aiming to stop Mr Sunak winning the Tory leadership contest over his ‘treachery’ in resigning from Government on Tuesday night – a move that precipitated the PM’s downfall.
According to the Telegraph, a 424-word criticism of Mr Sunak is being widely shared across Tory WhatsApp groups.
As well as claiming ‘there is nothing Conservative about the ‘Big Tax and Big Spend’ agenda of Rishi Sunak’, Mr Sunak is also branded a ‘liar’ and accused of ‘schoolboy errors’.
The ex-chancellor has also witnessed a TV clip of himself, from 20 years ago, talking about his circle of friends being ‘err… not working class’ go viral on social media.
Rishi Sunak was forced to deny links to ‘toxic’ former No10 adviser Dominic Cummings last night.
Mr Cummings has posted ‘poisonous’ claims online about Mr Sunak’s rivals for the Tory leadership, but the former Chancellor’s team insisted he had not spoken to the controversial adviser since he left No 10 in late 2020.
A rival Tory leadership campaign source said Mr Sunak should ‘come clean’ about whether his team had any links to Mr Cummings – or if they had been in contact with him.
Penny Mordaunt
- Former defence secretary
- Appeared on reality TV show Splash!
- Current trade minister
- Divorced Royal Naval Reservist
- Odds: 9/4
Ms Mordaunt’s campaign got off to an awkward start on Sunday with her launch video hastily edited to remove several identifiable figures including athlete Jonnie Peacock and jailed Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius.
Announcing her bid, the international trade minister said the UK’s leadership ‘needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship’.
Ms Mordaunt was Ben Wallace’s predecessor as defence secretary, and the first woman to hold the post before being sacked by Mr Johnson shortly after he became Prime Minister in 2019.
The trade minister has many strings to her bow as a Royal Navy reservist and former reality TV contestant, having appeared on the Tom Daley-fronted diving show Splash.
She played a prominent role in the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and enjoys the backing of Dame Andrea Leadsom and Michael Fabricant.
Mordaunt’s bid was promoted on her Twitter page, where she has hit back against critics trying to depict her as ‘woke’ amid a row over her stance on transgender rights, insisting she has ‘fought for women’s rights all my life’ as she hit back at opponents
Ms Mordaunt’s bid was promoted on her Twitter page, where she has hit back against critics trying to depict her as ‘woke’ amid a row over her stance on transgender rights, insisting she has ‘fought for women’s rights all my life’ as she hit back at opponents.
Her position as one of the bookies’ favourites to become the next Tory leader has led to a furious row over her stance on trans issues, including her past claim that ‘trans women are women’.
She has been accused of being ‘a committed warrior for the trans lobby’ and of risking ‘enormous harm to women’s rights and children’.
But Ms Mordaunt, a Royal Navy reservist, used a series of Twitter posts in the early hours of this morning to push back at opponents.
As well as highlighting her past work in Government, including when she was women and equalities minister under Theresa May, Ms Mordaunt also stressed there was a difference between ‘biological women’ and those who are ‘legally female’.
Liz Truss
- Foreign Secretary
- Remainer turned Brexit hardliner
- Negotiating with EU over NI
- Loves posing for pictures on Instagram
- Odds: 7/2
The Foreign Secretary kept her powder dry as the Tory top brass turned on the mortally wounded Prime Minister, despite being a Johnson loyalist, though she did cut short a foreign trip to Indonesia to head back to Westminster as he announced his resignation.
But she confirmed long-standing expectations that she would throw her hat into the already crowded ring on Sunday, pledging to reverse the national insurance hike.
Ina video released today she vowed to return to ‘proper Conservative policy’ with tax cuts ‘from day one’ and business rates reforms. She suggested that the £2trillion debt mountain should be put on a ‘longer-term’ footing in order to give immediate wriggle-room.
In her video, she played up her experience at the top levels of government and said the party needs to ‘deliver, deliver, deliver’ to win the next general election.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has already come out in support of Liz Truss
Writing in The Telegraph on Sunday, Ms Truss, who has been cultivating support among Tory MPs and enjoys the backing of Julian Knight, Jackie-Doyle Price and Chloe Smith, said she could be ‘trusted to deliver’.
Social media aficionado Ms Truss has made little secret of her leadership ambitions, with a series of high-profile interventions and photo opportunities in which she appeared to be channelling late PM Margaret Thatcher.
She has the experience of working across many Whitehall departments, while her hard line on Ukraine, insisting Russian forces must be driven from the country, and threats to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU play well with sections of the party.
Nadhim Zahawi
- Made Chancellor after Sunak quit last week
- Urged Boris to quit within a day of appointment
- Born in Iraq to Kurdish parents and came to Uk as a child
- Made millions by founded the YouGov polling company
- Questions over his tax affairs
- Odds: 50/1
Mr Zahawi’s bid, also announced in The Sunday Times, is rooted in lower taxes and a ‘great education’ for all, promising to ‘steady the ship’ and ‘stabilise the economy’.
He also appeared to suggest a hard-line stance on so-called culture war issues, claiming he would protect children from what he claimed was ‘damaging and inappropriate nonsense from radical activists’.
The newly appointed Chancellor argued Britons must be trusted ‘to do what is best for themselves’, as he warned the country had lost a sense of ‘boundless optimism and opportunity’ that he traced back to Margaret Thatcher’s tenure.
An outside bet among the bookies, the Iraqi-born former education secretary was a successful businessman and came to wider prominence as vaccines minister during the pandemic.
But he is facing questions over his tax affairs that could serious hinder his campaign.
There have been claims that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is probing Mr Zahawi after civil servants raised a red ‘flag’.
But Mr Zahawi, who founded polling firm YouGov and is believed to be worth around £100million, dismissed the suggestion and said he will ‘not apologise for being a successful businessman’.
Today he lashed out at ‘smears’ as he insisted he is ‘not aware’ of any investigation into his financial affairs.
The new Chancellor also attempted to turn the tables by vowing to publish his tax return annually if his Tory leadership bid is successful.
He also refused to give any estimate for his personal wealth saying he would ‘probably get it wrong’ and ‘these things move around’ with changes to investment values.
Tom Tugendhat
- Former soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Married father of two
- Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee
- Russia and China hawk
- Remain-voting long-term Boris critic
- Has never held a ministerial post
- Odds: 12/1
Not a household name, but among the early contenders.
The multi-lingual chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee became the first to announce his intention to stand for leader should Mr Johnson be turfed out, with his declaration made in January, a position he repeated in Friday’s Daily Telegraph, saying he was putting together a ‘broad coalition’ offering a ‘clean start’.
His odds shortened almost immediately as a result.
The former soldier wrote in the paper: ‘I have served before, in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister.’
A Remainer in 2016, he has been a trenchant critic of Mr Johnson, a stance that would appear to have cost him any chance of ministerial preferment under the current leadership.
Yesterday he provided a punchy response today when – asked about the ‘naughtiest thing’ he’d ever done – the Tory leadership candidate replied: ‘Well, I invaded a country once.’
The former British Army officer looked to draw on his experience in the military – during which he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan – as he pushed forward his case to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Although considered an outsider in the race for Number 10, as he has not previously been a Government minister, the 49-year-old insisted he had a wealth of experience as a ‘leader’.
Mr Tugendhat, the chairman of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, vowed to be tough on Russia and China.
He also promised to reverse a hike in National Insurance and to take action on ‘crippling’ fuel duties.
Suella Braverman
- Attorney General and hardline Brexiteer
- British daughter of Indian parents from Goa
- Has vowed to rewrite Brexit deal on Northern Ireland
- Also pledged to tackle ‘woke’ social issues
- Odds: 50/1
The Attorney General launched an unlikely leadership bid as support for Mr Johnson crumbled around him on Wednesday night.
But a surprise endorsement from prominent Brexiteer Steve Baker, who had earlier said he was considering running, has lent weight to her standing.
Ms Braverman, who was first elected as an MP in 2015, is regarded as something of an outlier for the top job.
A Suella Braverman for PM Twitter account has nonetheless sprung up, with Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne being the first to tweet his support for her bid.
Jeremy Hunt
- Former foreign, health and defence secretary
- Lost to Johnson in 2019 leadership election
- Remainer turned Brexit supporter
- Long seen as the moderate, anti-Boris candidate
- Father of two whose wife is Chinese
- Odds: 50/1
Mr Hunt confirmed his widely anticipated leadership bid in The Sunday Telegraph, making similar tax-cutting pledges to fellow ex-health secretary Mr Javid.
The foreign secretary, whose Remainer background may have been part of what ruled him out of the running in 2019, has been a persistent critic of Mr Johnson.
Seen by some as a bit of a Thatcher reboot, Mr Hunt might appeal to those who want a sensible choice of leader after months of instability.
As chairman of the Commons Health Committee, he has used his position to make a number of critical interventions on the Government’s handling of the pandemic, although his strong support for lockdown measures will not have pleased all Tory MPs.
Kemi Badenoch
- Former equalities minister who fought against ‘woke’
- A 42-year-old banker with Nigerian heritage
- Has received the shock backing of Michael Gove
- Odds: 12/1
Former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch threw her hat into the ring with a plan for a smaller state and a government ‘focused on the essentials’.
The MP for Saffron Walden said she supported lower taxes ‘to boost growth and productivity, and accompanied by tight spending discipline’.
Writing in The Times, the 42-year-old former banker, who grew up in the UK, US and Nigeria, also hit out at ‘identity politics’ and said Boris Johnson was ‘a symptom of the problems we face, not the cause of them’.
Ms Badenoch may be considered an outsider for the leadership given the Tory grandees already in the running, but her profile was boosted by an endorsement from Michael Gove on Sunday.
Writing in the Sun the former minister said: ‘As I reflect on what it takes to deliver in government – on the mistakes I’ve made, the lessons I’ve learned, the progress I helped secure – I know one thing is true above all. If you want to drive change, empower the right people. Kemi Badenoch has the Right Stuff.’
He went on to say the party needed a leader with ‘Kemi’s focus, intellect and no-bulls*** drive’.
