Long seen as one of the favorites to be the next Tory party leader, the foreign secretary has the support of Boris Johnson super loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg. But she fell behind in third place after a secret ballot by Tory MPs, with 50 votes to 67 for Mordaunt, the trade secretary and former defense secretary, who had launched her own campaign at a packed event earlier in the day. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak came first, with 88 votes. That was less impressive than what Johnson had in the early stages of the 2019 contest. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi were excluded from the competition. Zahawi accepted the job last week, before urging Johnson to resign just over 24 hours later. Truss will say in her speech on Thursday: “My mission is to make our country a nation of aspiration, where every child, every person has the best chance to succeed.” She will emphasize her humble background, saying: “I grew up in Paisley and went to a comprehensive school in Leeds. I’ve seen kids fail and be let down by low expectations. They will never be disappointed on my watch again.” The Trust will also repeat its pledge to cut taxes, including reversing the recent rise in national insurance, which is meant to pay for social care. In an interview with the Spectator, she suggested the tax cuts could be paid for through additional borrowing. The chairman of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, Richard Hughes, warned on Wednesday of the impact on public coffers from the blizzard of tax cuts promised by the Tory leadership candidates. “A loosening of fiscal policy is not going to improve the sustainability of public finances. It will make them worse,” he told MPs at the Treasury select committee. A YouGov poll of Tory members, which was quickly widely shared by Mordaunt’s campaign on Wednesday, emerged as the candidate most likely to beat Sunak if MPs put her in the bottom two. 67% of grassroots members chose Mordaunt and just 28% for the former chancellor. On Wednesday night, Hunt dashed hopes from centrist MP Tom Tugendhat’s group that he would endorse their candidate, instead issuing a statement saying he would support Sunak. The former chancellor was “one of the most decent, straightforward people with the highest standards of integrity I have ever met in British politics,” Hunt told the BBC. “At a time when we need to rebuild trust with the electorate, this shows we are in tune with modern Britain.” At her launch event, where she was introduced by former business secretary Andrea Leadsom, Mordaunt promised a “relentless focus on cost of living issues” and claimed she was Labour’s most feared candidate. Former Brexit secretary David Davis, who supports her, called it “the best launch I’ve ever seen”. “The character of the candidate came through,” he added. “None of the other candidates were willing to give the kind of strong answers that he did.” At one point, when asked about her definition of a woman, Mordaunt tried to quash claims that she is too “woke” to be Tory leader. “I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said every prime minister needs a Willie. A woman like me does not,” she said. Thatcher’s famous remark was in reference to her de facto deputy, Willie Whitelaw. Davies argued that Mordant’s strong showing in the YouGov poll suggested “the party wants a reset”. The vote in the Tory leadership race came after Johnson hinted it would be the last Prime Minister’s Questions, saying he was “proud of the leadership I have given and I will soon be leaving with my head held high”. Downing Street had made tentative inquiries into an international trip for Johnson next week – which would mean he would miss his last outing. But sources said he was now unlikely to go ahead, meaning Johnson would face Keir Starmer for the final time next week before parliament rises for the summer recess. Labor and the Lib Dems have complained that the government has been effectively paralyzed since Johnson announced his intention to step down last week, despite the urgency of the cost of living crisis. A supporter of Tugendhat, who secured 37 votes on Wednesday, said he hoped to win at least half of Hunt’s 18 supporters and Zahawi’s 25. They stressed that Tugendhat would not leave the contest because the main aim was to get to the televised debates – which start on Channel 4 on Friday – so he could “do a David Cameron” and show he was the best candidate to link with the public. . Meanwhile, Sunak supporter Gavin Williamson has been accused by a person in the Tugendhat camp of trying to persuade him to throw his weight behind the former chancellor. Brexiter staunch backers Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman, who received 40 and 32 votes respectively, insisted they would remain in the race, although there were rumors that one or the other could quit – perhaps in exchange for a Cabinet post from one of the pioneers. “I think you will see some movement,” said one Conservative MP. “The pressure will be on Zuela, at 32, to fold: he can get a job.” The second round of voting will take place on Thursday, with the last candidate eliminated. Another round will then be held on Monday, after two televised debates between the remaining candidates. Once the field is narrowed to two, members of the Conservative base will make the final choice.
