The Trade Secretary and former Defense Secretary surged ahead of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss after the first round of voting by Tory MPs, despite being seen as a relative fringe before the race began. Writing for the Daily Mail, Ms Mordaunt promised to honor the UK’s NATO pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by 2030, as she said Britain must “hold fast” to shared values of the nation “strength, justice and decency”. and) a willingness to stand up for what is right’. She wrote: “The defense of the kingdom is the first duty of any government. “We will stand with NATO in defense of our shared values and will not shy away from hard graft and putting boots on the ground at the alliance’s borders.” Ms Mordaunt said she would remain firm on the UK’s position on the war in Ukraine, stressing that Russia “must lose the war”. “We must hold our ground in Ukraine. No territory can be ceded to Russia,” he said. “Although this will be difficult, we have to be honest with our people that we have to do this for our own safety and security.”
