Foreign secretary forced to regroup after trailing behind Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt after first round ballot
, the foreign secretary has the backing of Boris Johnson super-loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg.
She will stress her modest background, saying: “I grew up in Paisley and went to comprehensive school in Leeds. I saw children who failed and were let down by low expectations. They will never be let down again on my watch.” In a YouGov poll of Tory members, which was quickly being widely shared by Mordaunt’s campaignon Wednesday, she emerged as the candidate most likely to beat Sunak if MPs place her in the final two. Asked to rank the two head to head, 67% of grassroots members picked Mordaunt, and just 28% went for the former chancellor.
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 to be the candidate that Labour feared most. “I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said that every prime minister needs a Willie. A woman like me doesn’t have one,” she said. Thatcher’s famous remark referred to her de facto deputy, Willie Whitelaw.
They stressed Tugendhat would not drop out of the contest because the main aim was making it to the TV debates – starting on Channel 4 on Friday – so he could “do a David Cameron” and show he was the best candidate to connect with the public.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Shapps pulls out of Tory leadership race and joins Raab in supporting Sunak as Rees-Mogg and Dorries back Truss – liveTransport secretary and deputy PM back former chancellor as two other senior Tories back foreign secretary
Read more »
Shapps pulls out of Tory leadership race and joins Raab in supporting Sunak as Rees-Mogg and Dorries back Truss – liveTransport secretary and deputy PM back former chancellor as two other senior Tories back foreign secretary
Read more »
Tory leadership race: who’s standing, what are they promising and who’s backing them?Household names and lesser-known Tories are in the mix to be the next PM, from Kemi Badenoch to Nadhim Zahawi
Read more »
Wide-open race for Tory leadership lays bare party divisionsThe eight candidates who got through to the first round come from across the party, with Rishi Sunak the early favourite
Read more »
Deadlines, dropouts and ‘dark arts’: frenzied start to Tory leadership raceCandidates jostle for position as contest begins in earnest, with some hoovering up support and others floundering
Read more »
Sunak ahead as Hunt and Zahawi knocked out of Tory leadership raceResults in from first round of knockout votes in contest to decide next party leader and prime minister
Read more »