Bitter Split On The Tory Right Could Boost Penny Mordaunt S Leadership Chances Penny Mordant

The trade secretary has run an impressively organized campaign that has led to murmurs about how much work she has put into her day job. He has garnered the second highest number of approvals after Sunak, spending time in one-on-one meetings with MPs rather than on the airwaves. Her allies say she will now pick up the pace and show her mettle as a media performer in the coming days. “The more people see Penny, the more they warm to her, which is a huge plus,” said one, an observation that may not apply to her rivals. Mordaunt’s bid was not without hiccups. Her campaign video has been widely parodied and re-edited following complaints from several public figures featured in it. But MPs who support her say the Brexit campaigner, who has friends across the party, has the best chance of being a unity candidate – and breaking free from the Johnson regime. According to a survey of party members by website ConservativeHome, Mordaunt is the grassroots favourite, closely followed by former equalities minister Kemi Bandenos. Labor sources admit she is more of a threat on paper than Sunak or Liz Truss – potential candidates against whom they have already set up their attack messages. “Her public profile is not high, but that can be dangerous because you have room to make an impression that can be very favorable at first,” a source said. George Freeman, a former minister who supports Mordant, said she was one of the few candidates in the race with a real prospect of uniting the party. “I’ve known Penny Mordaunt for 12 years, since we were elected in 2010,” he said. “She has overcome difficult obstacles in life in an inspiring life story, has the conservatism of a nation in her DNA and is a natural and proven leader.” Mordaunt is widely popular among her Conservative colleagues, although she has alienated certain groups of MPs in the party. The hard-line Brexiteer wing has not forgiven her for staying until the end in Theresa May’s cabinet as her peers voted against the EU deal. Steve Baker, who runs the campaign of her opponent, Suella Braverman, said he had never forgiven her for that choice. “In the end, she just wasn’t there when I needed her. And actually, it’s not like I needed her. He made the wrong grand strategic call. And he didn’t fight for what he said he believed. And now he wants my support? Well, I’m afraid he can’t have it.’ He has also lost some support from the anti-Johnson wing of the party because he remained minister through the turmoil, when he was often rumored to be on the verge of resigning. He wrote to voters that Johnson had “yet to fully prove” he could win back trust, but he did not quit even as the prime minister was bleeding ministers in his final days. “That was the end for me,” said one lawmaker who has been a vocal critic of Johnson. Mordown told MPs she had a sense of duty not to contribute to the possibility of a total government collapse. Perhaps the most toxic clash in recent months has come over Mordaunt’s support for transgender rights, something she had to effectively repudiate in the early days of the campaign. Other candidates on the right (Suella Braverman) denounced her and accused her of being behind legislation that does not refer to a “woman” giving birth, but refers to a pregnant woman. Mordaunt, who grew up in Portsmouth, where she is now an MP, made the biggest impact in her early parliamentary career with her 2014 appearance on ITV celebrity diving show Splash! Images from the series have often been used in misogynistic depictions of her. The Times this week used the photos again, along with pictures of the male leadership candidates in suits. But Mordaunt’s big rise to public prominence came during the Leave campaign, where she caused a split in the Conservative party after a controversial appearance on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show in which she wrongly suggested Britain would not have a veto on Turkey’s membership in the EU. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am Appearing later that day, Cameron effectively accused his junior minister of lying, calling it a “very misleading claim” and said the Leave campaign was trying to persuade voters by saying something “which is not true”. Mordant joined the cabinet under Theresa May and was Secretary of State for International Development and Secretary of State for Defence. But her decision to back Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 contest saw her sacked by Boris Johnson – and Hunt resigned from the cabinet after being offered Mordant’s defense secretary position out of loyalty to her. Twice in leadership elections, Mordaunt was rumored to be considering running, but there were early rumors of her determination to run to succeed Johnson and suggestions she had signed tentative endorsements from around 50 MPs. In previous campaigns she never backed the winner – although her endorsements of Andrea Leadsom and then Jeremy Hunt were heralded as a coup. This time, Leadsom supports Mordaunt. It remains to be seen whether Hunt, as his second leadership campaign begins to falter, will also return the favor to his old ally.

title: “Bitter Split On The Tory Right Could Boost Penny Mordaunt S Leadership Chances Penny Mordant " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Jennifer Richards”

The trade secretary has run an impressively organized campaign that has led to murmurs about how much work she has put into her day job. He has garnered the second highest number of approvals after Sunak, spending time in one-on-one meetings with MPs rather than on the airwaves. Her allies say she will now pick up the pace and show her mettle as a media performer in the coming days. “The more people see Penny, the more they warm to her, which is a huge plus,” said one, an observation that may not apply to her rivals. Mordaunt’s bid was not without hiccups. Her campaign video has been widely parodied and re-edited following complaints from several public figures featured in it. But MPs who support her say the Brexit campaigner, who has friends across the party, has the best chance of being a unity candidate – and breaking free from the Johnson regime. According to a survey of party members by website ConservativeHome, Mordaunt is the grassroots favourite, closely followed by former equalities minister Kemi Bandenos. Labor sources admit she is more of a threat on paper than Sunak or Liz Truss – potential candidates against whom they have already set up their attack messages. “Her public profile is not high, but that can be dangerous because you have room to make an impression that can be very favorable at first,” a source said. George Freeman, a former minister who supports Mordant, said she was one of the few candidates in the race with a real prospect of uniting the party. “I’ve known Penny Mordaunt for 12 years, since we were elected in 2010,” he said. “She has overcome difficult obstacles in life in an inspiring life story, has the conservatism of a nation in her DNA and is a natural and proven leader.” Mordaunt is widely popular among her Conservative colleagues, although she has alienated certain groups of MPs in the party. The hard-line Brexiteer wing has not forgiven her for staying until the end in Theresa May’s cabinet as her peers voted against the EU deal. Steve Baker, who runs the campaign of her opponent, Suella Braverman, said he had never forgiven her for that choice. “In the end, she just wasn’t there when I needed her. And actually, it’s not like I needed her. He made the wrong grand strategic call. And he didn’t fight for what he said he believed. And now he wants my support? Well, I’m afraid he can’t have it.’ He has also lost some support from the anti-Johnson wing of the party because he remained minister through the turmoil, when he was often rumored to be on the verge of resigning. He wrote to voters that Johnson had “yet to fully prove” he could win back trust, but he did not quit even as the prime minister was bleeding ministers in his final days. “That was the end for me,” said one lawmaker who has been a vocal critic of Johnson. Mordown told MPs she had a sense of duty not to contribute to the possibility of a total government collapse. Perhaps the most toxic clash in recent months has come over Mordaunt’s support for transgender rights, something she had to effectively repudiate in the early days of the campaign. Other candidates on the right (Suella Braverman) denounced her and accused her of being behind legislation that does not refer to a “woman” giving birth, but refers to a pregnant woman. Mordaunt, who grew up in Portsmouth, where she is now an MP, made the biggest impact in her early parliamentary career with her 2014 appearance on ITV celebrity diving show Splash! Images from the series have often been used in misogynistic depictions of her. The Times this week used the photos again, along with pictures of the male leadership candidates in suits. But Mordaunt’s big rise to public prominence came during the Leave campaign, where she caused a split in the Conservative party after a controversial appearance on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show in which she wrongly suggested Britain would not have a veto on Turkey’s membership in the EU. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am Appearing later that day, Cameron effectively accused his junior minister of lying, calling it a “very misleading claim” and said the Leave campaign was trying to persuade voters by saying something “which is not true”. Mordant joined the cabinet under Theresa May and was Secretary of State for International Development and Secretary of State for Defence. But her decision to back Jeremy Hunt in the 2019 contest saw her sacked by Boris Johnson – and Hunt resigned from the cabinet after being offered Mordant’s defense secretary position out of loyalty to her. Twice in leadership elections, Mordaunt was rumored to be considering running, but there were early rumors of her determination to run to succeed Johnson and suggestions she had signed tentative endorsements from around 50 MPs. In previous campaigns she never backed the winner – although her endorsements of Andrea Leadsom and then Jeremy Hunt were heralded as a coup. This time, Leadsom supports Mordaunt. It remains to be seen whether Hunt, as his second leadership campaign begins to falter, will also return the favor to his old ally.