LONDON – The competition to replace Liz Truss as UK prime minister intensified on Sunday, with Rishi Sunak leading in the Conservative Party lawmakers’ vote scramble, but Boris Johnson mounted a campaign eager to reclaim the job he gave up three months ago in a torrent of scandals.
Mr. Sunak, who officially announced his candidacy on the promise to “fix our economy,” got 136 votes, according to a BBC Sunday noon vote count, more than double the 56 pledge votes for Mr. Johnson. The third candidate, Penny Mordaunt, has 23.
In addition to the numerical advantage, Mr. Sunak has received considerable approval from those on the right wing of the Conservative Party. On Sunday morning, Steve Baker, a lawmaker representing an influential group of euro skeptics in Parliament, announced he would support Mr.
“Boris Johnson would be a guaranteed disaster,” Mr. Baker told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge. “We cannot allow it to happen.”
That’s important because it shows that not only do party leaders see Mr Johnson as an intolerable risk, they also believe Mr Sunak, who was prime minister of the Exchequer under Mr Johnson, could bridge some of the bitter ideological rifts in the party deepened after Ms. Truss’ turbulent six weeks in office. During the last contest, many of the party’s right-wing figures flocked to Ms. Truss, which put her in a good position to beat Mr. Sunak.
Under party rules, candidates are required to have nominations from at least 100 of the Conservative Party’s 357 lawmakers to advance to a second round of voting, among members of the highest rank. party rank.
Candidates have until 2 p.m. Monday to collect nominations. On Monday, the party will hold two rounds of voting to win the field for one or two. If the two remain, party members will vote online over the weekend.
If Mr Johnson can win 100 nominations, it will greatly increase his odds of returning to Downing Street, as opinion polls show he will win votes among members. Allies of the former prime minister insist he had those 100 votes, but political analysts have expressed skepticism, noting that only half of them have publicly indicated their intention to support him.
Mr Johnson received notable endorsement from a member of his last cabinet, Nadhim Zahawi, who served as Exchequer prime minister shortly after Mr Sunak stepped down. Mr Sunak’s departure helped kick off the wholesale walk of ministers that eventually ousted Mr Johnson.
“When I was Prime Minister, I watched the preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like,” Mr. Zahawi wrote on Twitter. “He wrote and was honest about his mistakes. He has learned from those mistakes how he can run No10 and the country better.”
In July, Mr Zahawi was among those urging Mr Johnson to step down. “The country deserves a government that is not only stable but acts with integrity,” he wrote in a letter to his boss. “Prime Minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now.”
Mr Johnson, who flew home on Saturday from a holiday in the Dominican Republic to begin lobbying lawmakers, has yet to officially announce his candidacy. But another of his former ministers, Jacob Rees-Mogg, told the BBC he had spoken to Mr Johnson, and that he was “clearly going to stand his ground”.
Ms Mordaunt, who officially took her hat off on Friday, was deemed unlikely to pass the first round of voting. But she insisted on Sunday that she also confidently lines up more than 100 lawmakers.
British media reported that Mr Johnson was looking to strike an agreement with Mr Sunak to join forces on a unified ticket, and the two met on Saturday. But the shape of such a ticket is unclear, given Mr. Sunak’s large lead among lawmakers, and a feud between the two men that makes any cooperation seem far-fetched.
In a statement announcing his candidacy, Mr Sunak said his experience as prime minister would equip him to lead Britain through the economic challenges lurking. He promised a government with “integrity, professionalism and accountability”, a stark comparison to the moral fallacies of Mr Johnson’s tenure.
The success of Mr Sunak’s message will depend on how lawmakers weigh that against their own electoral fortunes. The Conservatives are trailing the opposition Labor Party by more than 30 percentage points in the polls. Despite the dramatic erosion of Conservative support that began under Mr Johnson, he is still seen by many as a proven man following his resounding victory in the 2019 general election.
Mr Rees-Mogg, repeating claims that Mr Johnson had more than 100 votes, described him as the party’s “greatest electoral asset”, arguing that only he could create a victory over the Labor Party.
