Tory leadership race: Rishi Sunak supporters claim he has backing of 100 MPs – but he hasn’t announced he’s running | Politics News

Supporters of Rishi Sunak are claiming that he has the vote to advance to the next stage of the Conservative Party leadership contest.

Those who want to win the Downing Street key have until Monday to secure the support of 100 MPs, and must meet this threshold to be placed on the ballot.

This means that there can only be a maximum of three candidates for the top job, and the field will be narrowed down to two MPs before heading for a wider number of party members to vote – except when Conservative politicians united behind one.

Sky News’ latest tally shows Mr Sunak has 85 Tory MPs backing him, while Boris Johnson has 47 and Penny Mordaunt has 19.

But so far, only Mrs. Mordaunt – the leader of the House of Commons – was actually announced her intention to run.

Last night, Conservative MP Sir James Duddridge confirmed to Sky News he had spoken to Mr Johnson, who told him he was “ready for it”.

The candidates will spend the weekend garnering support from their Conservative Party colleagues as the nomination deadline approaches – with Mr Johnson flew back from his Caribbean vacation in economy class.

The timetable of the contest has been sped up to ensure that the winner will be closed within a week.

It was quickly organized after Liz Truss announced her resignation on Thursday following weeks of market turmoil and turmoil within her party as a result of the small budget cuts announced to Congress last month.

She fired Prime Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, whose replacement, Jeremy Hunt, later reversed almost all of her policies.

That was not enough to quell the anger of her supporters and she became the UK’s shortest prime minister with just 44 days in office.

Whoever takes power will need to decide quickly whether they go ahead with Mr Hunt’s medium-term fiscal plan, which is due to be released on October 31.

Reports say Ms Mordaunt held talks with the prime minister to say she would proceed with his measures and that he would remain in charge of the Treasury under her leadership.

In the final leadership race, Mr. Sunak finished second behind Ms. Truss, while Ms. Mordaunt came in third.

If Mr Johnson takes the crown, it will be less than eight weeks from his departure from Downing Street after ministers resigned repeatedly over his handling of allegations against then-deputy director Chris Pincher.

Former Tory leader Lord William Hague said the former Prime Minister’s return to power would lead to a “spiral of death” for the party, telling Times Radio: “I think it could be the worst idea I’ve ever had. heard in the last 46 years. a member of the Conservative Party.”

But other MPs insisted he was the best man for the job, with Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan saying he could “continue to give back to the country and be on duty”.

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Mr Javid, who announced his support for Mr Sunak on Twitter, said it was “very clear” that his candidate was the right man for the job – although he supported Ms Truss in the last run – adding : “The only way for our party to reassert our values ​​and restore our reputation as management is to overcome past mistakes and focus on the future together.” .”

However, Tory MP Robbie Moore said Ms Mordaunt was “the right person to take on, not just the Conservative Party moving forward, but our country moving forward”, claiming she has the ability. “unite” the Tories and make their 2019 manifesto.

The opposition parties are demand an immediate general election No matter who wins, with Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer saying the British people “deserve so much more than the revolving door of chaos”.

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