While Mordaunt’s film was mocked on social media for its clichéd imagery, it won the hearts of Tory MPs. One MP supporting her campaign said “never underestimate the power of patriotism in our party”. As the only major contender for the leadership who was not in Boris Johnson’s last cabinet, the junior trade secretary was initially seen as an outside bet to be the next prime minister. But the 49-year-old played on her outsider status to appeal to MPs and activists from different wings of the party. Mordaunt’s hinterland is not that of a typical Conservative. Born in Torquay, Devon, her mother died of breast cancer when Mordaunt was 15. Her father was also diagnosed with cancer during her teenage years. He became a magician’s assistant to support the family. She also enlisted as a reservist in the Royal Navy, something she has done a lot during her political career. After graduating from the University of Reading, she worked in public relations, including as an aide in the Tory party during William Hague’s leadership and George W. Bush’s two successful US presidential campaigns. Penny Mordaunt in Dominica with Prince Charles as International Development Secretary in 2017 © Victoria Jones/PA She was elected MP for Portsmouth North in 2010 and quickly rose through the ministerial ladder: her first post came as local government minister in 2014, followed by armed forces minister and disability minister. Mordant joined Theresa May’s cabinet in 2017 as international development secretary and was briefly defense secretary in May 2019. Although Johnson kept her in his government, she was demoted to the non-ministerial role of chief payments officer before moving to trade secretary last September. She is one of the most colorful MPs in the Tory party. In 2014 he appeared on the reality TV show Splash!, where celebrities learn the art of scuba diving. In the same year, he revealed that he had made a Parliamentary speech about poultry with lewd references, to the delight of MPs. Unlike the other leadership contenders, he is not trying to appeal to an urban electorate. An ally said: “Penny is very Middle England.” Mordaunt appeals to many wings of the party: she plays on her support for Brexit in the 2016 referendum — she was one of the voices of the Vote Leave campaign — along with her social liberalism and professed love of Britain. In the first survey of the party’s base since the contest to replace Johnson began, the website ConservativeHome on Tuesday put Mordaunt as members’ top choice, ahead of other candidates with significantly higher profiles. RN Reserve Lieutenant Penny Mordaunt in 2014 © Alex Cave/Royal Navy “Penny’s lot were cunning but very successful at browsing through everyone else and picking out one or two people. He will do very well from this race,” said an MP from a rival leadership campaign. Paul Goodman, editor of ConservativeHome, said Mordaunt was popular within the party because “the base likes the nautical cut of her jib”. She added, “it combines being a woman with a military personality. Penny has a direct manner and a voice that will listen to you — the combination is quite rare and gives her great political reach.” Much of Mordaunt’s support comes from recruiting MPs in 2019, who see Johnson’s departure as an opportunity to make a break from the past. “It would be a fresh start,” said Duncan Baker, a fullback. “She is very strong, has impeccable integrity and values.” James Sunderland, who was also first elected in 2019, said: “She is no nonsense, has no baggage, is full of integrity and has a vision for the future. She is the candidate Labor and the SNP would least want to face.” The chances of her becoming the next prime minister fell significantly on Tuesday. According to bookmakers William Hill, her odds of winning the competition have increased from 7/2 to 2/1. Her campaign has garnered the second highest number of endorsements, with 26 MPs, some of them high-profile figures, publicly endorsing her. That puts her ahead of foreign secretary Liz Truss, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt and foreign affairs select committee chairman Tom Tugendhat. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary and one-time Tory leadership candidate who endorsed her on Tuesday, described her as “a woman of incredible integrity” and “high ability”, adding that it would mark a clean break with her scandal-ridden Johnson era. . Penny Mordaunt Leadership Offer Video © Penny Mordaunt/YouTube Davis added: “She is fantastic in the House of Commons, but above all she has a vision for Britain, she is a patriot and she knows what kind of conservatism she wants to stand for. And he’s the person in the party most likely to beat Rishi Sunak, so it’s a formidable combination.” Little is known about how Mordaunt would rule if she won the contest. In an op-ed for the Telegraph newspaper, she pledged to cut taxes with a fiscal rule that debt as a percentage of GDP would fall over time. He also said the fuel tax would be cut and income tax thresholds would be raised for low and middle income earners. In a swipe at Johnson, Mordaunt says she doesn’t want her leadership to be about her. In her launch video, she said the Tory party “needs to be a little more about the leader and a lot more about the ship”. For some senior MPs, this is Mordaunt’s biggest shortcoming. A minister who has worked closely with her said: “I worked with her for five years and I still feel like I don’t know what she thinks or believes.”
