Rishi Sunak has announced that he will be standing for the post of Tory leader and still appears to be the apparent frontrunner in the race to replace Liz Truss
In a tweet the former Chancellor said
“The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis.
That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country.
I have the track record of delivery, a clear plan to fix the biggest problems we face and I will deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto.
There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done.“
A meeting between Sunak and Boris Johnson last night failed to reach any agreement between the two according to reports but allies of the former Prime Minister say he is ready to stand
On an 8am call with supportive Tory MPs, the former prime minister urged them to hit the phones to convince colleagues to back his campaign
Jacob Rees-Mogg said Boris Johnson would “clearly” stand to become Tory leader.
“The people who are doing the numbers for Boris’s campaign told me that they have the numbers, so the 100 that are necessary are there.”
Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, became Mr Johnson’s latest Cabinet backer as he said he “got the big calls right” and argued “Britain needs him back”.
“When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like,” Mr Zahawi wrote. “He was contrite and honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No 10 and the country better.”
Yesterday Trade minister Greg Hands said that Boris Johnson for prime minister again would be a “retrograde” step because he cannot form an effective government.
Kemi Badenoch has come out in support of Rishi Sunak:
“He would be a great leader during a time of crisis & difficulty” she said adding:
“I believe he understands the necessity of unity & bringing others along on the journey before making difficult decisions, just like Mrs Thatcher did.
