Mr Barclay – the former No 10 chief of staff who became health secretary during last week’s cabinet revolt against the prime minister – announced his support for Mr Sunak on Twitter. “I worked closely with him when I was secretary general of the finance ministry and I am convinced that he has all the right qualities to take our country forward,” he said of the former chancellor. Mr Sunak has come under fierce attack from Johnson loyalists, with Jacob Rees-Mogg accusing him of being a “socialist” chancellor and Nadine Dorries claiming he has played “dirty tricks” to ensure he wins. Mr Barclay’s support may assuage some of the anxiety about Mr Sunak felt by junior ministers who remained in government or accepted roles last week amid the upheaval of the rebellion. Tory MPs will have the chance to vote for the eight candidates vying to replace Boris Johnson as voting begins to find his successor. Messrs Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Jeremy Hunt, Nadhim Zahawi and Suella Braverman will all be on the ballot as voting begins at 1.30pm. on Wednesday, after everyone secured the 20 nominations. Tuesday saw some high-profile causes as the race intensifies. Former health secretary Sajid Javid quit, home secretary Priti Patel decided not to make a late bid and transport secretary Grant Shapps switched support to Mr Sunak. Ms Truss, meanwhile, won the endorsement of prominent Johnson loyalists Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries and James Cleverly in what was seen as a concerted move to prevent Mr Sunak from entering No 10. Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak’s team of “dirty tricks” after claims one of his backers – former chief whip Gavin Williamson – was trying to “block” votes for Mr Hunt to get through to the final second round and give Mr. Sunak an easy opponent. The claim was denied by Mr Hunt, who told LBC radio it was a “very dangerous game”. He also accused the former chancellor of putting Britain on a recessionary course. Mr Hunt’s supporters believe he will be able to muster the required minimum of 30 votes in the first ballot later on Wednesday, but publicly declared candidacies suggest he, Ms Bdenoch, Ms Braverman and Mr Zahawi may now struggle to go to the final. two. Johnson stalwart and cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg unleashed a broadside against Mr Sunak’s economic policies in an op-ed in the Daily Mail, accusing him of raising taxes to “socialist” levels. Mr Sunak, in the interview, told The Telegraph: “We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. This is my financial approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that would do.” Mr Shapps denied Mr Sunak’s campaign had engaged in “dirty tricks” and dismissed Mr Rees-Mogg’s claim he was a “socialist chancellor” as “not true”. It comes after an Opinium poll for Channel 4 News revealed Mr Sunak is the preferred candidate to take over the Conservative Party among Conservative members, with 28 per cent wanting him in the final vote. Away from the Tory leadership race, the government also clashed with Labor after the opposition party accused Johnson’s team of “running scared” after refusing to give parliament time for a Commons no-confidence vote. The Labor Party had called it “unprecedented” that ministers would not give parliament time for a vote of confidence. But a government spokesman hit back, accusing Labor of “playing politics”.
