He told The Telegraph: “Swella Braverman had a very creditable campaign and topped the polls for the current chancellor. But now she will have to think carefully about what she does next.” MPs on the ERG’s own WhatsApp group are said to be urging each other to unite around a single pro-Brexit candidate. One Tory MP said: “Now is the time for her to cash in her chips.” A government aide said Ms Braverman’s vote “could collapse” in Thursday’s second round of voting “as her votes are eaten up” by other campaigns. The prize remained approved by the rest of the candidates except the first three. “Swella, Tugendhat and Nadeem will all get ministerial posts tonight,” the aide said. But a senior source close to Ms Braverman’s camp said she would not fold her campaign, insisting: “Campaigns could make a difference. We’re going on, we’re fighting to win – as she once said.” Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a prominent backer of Mrs Truss who backed Brexit, admitted she had not won a “fantastic amount” of votes. “The truth is it’s a lot harder to be the leader of the pack than to come through the pack and what you’re going to see is a lot of vote-swapping,” he told LBC on Thursday.
