Kemi Badenoch pledges to support Rishi Sunak
Kemi Badenoch has announced she is backing Rishi Sunak to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister.
In an article for the Sunday Times, Badenoch, secretary of state for international trade, writes: “Mrs Thatcher won public trust and three elections in a row by making it about us, not her. We need someone who can do the same. I think this person is Rishi Sunak.
“I worked with Rishi at the Treasury when he was chancellor. Like any colleague we had our differences, which I explained when we were competitors in the same competition.
“Now it’s imperative that he let people know the decisions he made that he knew were absolutely right.”
Updated at 18.23 BST
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Key events (15)Boris Johnson (48)Rishi Sunak (47)Penny Mordaunt (20)Liz Truss (8)Dominic Raab (3)
Rishi Sunak now has the support of 126 Tory MPs, according to the Guardian’s count.
Boris Johnson has the support of 55 MPs and Penny Mordaunt 24.
West Dorset MP Chris Loder has backed Rishi Sunak.
A meeting between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson took place tonight in London, sources told the BBC and Sunday Times.
Andrew Lewer MP is also supporting Rishi Sunak.
Justin Tomlinson MP backs Rishi Sunak.
@RishiSunak is the best position to deliver.
I don’t care if you’re ERG, One Nation, Vote Leave or Remain – we owe it to the country to have the best people at the top table.
I want all 3 teams to work together and put the country first.
— Justin Tomlinson MP (@JustinTomlinson) October 22, 2022
Marcus Fysh MP is supporting Penny Mordaunt.
Only Penny Mordaunt will unite the @Conservatives. The events of the last 6 months make this clear to anyone who is actually watching what has happened.
— Marcus Fysh MP (@MarcusFysh) October 22
Senior Tories are engaged in a frenzied campaign to prevent Boris Johnson from making a dramatic return to Downing Street, with claims it would cause further economic damage and risk “the end of the Tory party”, write Michael Savage and Toby Helm.
Johnson’s team said late Saturday that it had privately secured the support of the 100 lawmakers needed to enter the race, although only 54 publicly backed him. The claim was immediately disputed by MPs and sources in the rival leadership campaign. Johnson posted a photo of himself lobbying an MP by phone, but his allies could not confirm on Saturday night that he would officially enter the contest to regain the leadership from which he was ousted just months ago.
In another day of high political drama in the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister, supporters of front-runner Rishi Sunak were trying to win the support of MPs so overwhelming that Johnson would be forced to quit.
They believe a final indicative vote among MPs who overwhelmingly support Sunak would send a message to members not to be lumped in with another leader they don’t support.
Penny Mordaunt, the only MP to have donned the hat to become Prime Minister so far, believes the next Tory leader must make the party want to unite.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said: “The country needs a strong Conservative party. We are the party that gets things done, that leaves the country in a better place than when we found it.
“We believe in freedom, tolerance, responsibility, compassion and patriotism. That’s why we’re always winning elections because the country believes it too.
“This is why we are the most successful political party in history. We have delivered while in office.
“Each of us should remember why we choose to serve: our passionate belief in our country, no matter what.
“You will find this unconditional love and patriotism wherever the Tories are. This is a fundamental weakness that the Labor party has only recently begun to address.
“Every leadership candidate will tell the party to unite. But our next leader has to do more than that. They have to make us want them.”
Updated at 20.09 BST
Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton has pledged her support for Boris Johnson via Facebook.
Michael Savage
Supporters of Tory leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt are poised to target “anti-Sunak” MPs if Boris Johnson pulls out of the race, amid warnings the government will descend into “running war” if the former chancellor wins the main position.
Rishi Sunak is far ahead in terms of public sponsors and the only one who has shown that he has secured the support of 100 MPs, which he needs to officially enter the race. It’s likely to get more big sponsors over the weekend. On Saturday he also won the support of figures previously close to Johnson, namely former Brexit minister Lord Frost and former health secretary Steve Barclay.
Sunak and his team are now working to get the support of as many MPs as possible to show the strength of support for the parliamentary party and send a signal to party members, should they be asked to vote in a second leadership round .
East Yorks MP Sir Greg Knight has backed Rishi Sunak.
The former chancellor now has the support of 123 Tory MPs, Boris Johnson has 54 and Penny Mordaunt has 24, according to the Guardian’s count.
Paul Holmes, Conservative MP for Eastleigh, is also Team Rishi Sunak.
We need stability and experience at the helm of our government to see us through these tough times, @RishiSunak has a track record of delivering. I can therefore confirm that I have nominated him as leader of the Conservative Party and that I will be voting for him on Monday.
— Paul Holmes MP (@pauljholmes) October 22, 2022 Shanti Das
On her way to get a flu shot in Uxbridge town centre, Debbie Cusmans, 57, spots a reporter with a notebook. “Boris is back!” she shouts, with a smile and a thumbs up. “Be sure to put it on.”
We are in Johnson’s west London constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where he has been an MP since 2015. It has been a Tory seat since it was created in 2010 – he won here with a majority of 5,034 in 2017 and 7,210 in 2019, so. time he was prime minister. On Saturday, as the buzz swirled about whether he would try to return to No.10, locals were eyeing a possible new term with a prime minister who is also their local MP.
Some, like Cusmans, saw it as a positive thing. The former trapeze artist said Johnson helped her when she was facing eviction a few years ago and she believed he had done a good job, both for Uxbridge and for the UK. “They should give him a chance to come back. The people elected him, so let him stay,” he said. She believed Rishi Sunak, the bookies’ favorite to succeed Liz Truss, “stabbed Boris in the back. So how can we trust him?”
East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton is the latest to back Rishi Sunak.
In Rishi & Penny we have 2 credible adults with experience, both up to being Prime Minister and who need to head up the new cabinet with Ben and Jeremy. Clear Rishi has overwhelming support from the Parliamentary Party and after consulting my members and constituents I am delighted to nominate him
— Tim Loughton MP 🇺🇦 (@timloughton) October 22, 2022
Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns has backed Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.
Going back to @RishiSunak this week. This is a time that requires financial stability and experience. Rishi will unite the party and our nation.
— Alun Cairns (@AlunCairns) October 22, 2022
Damian Green MP has announced via Twitter that he is Team Penny Mordaunt.
I worked closely with Penny in government and saw her determination and imagination. He is in the best position to provide national stability and unify the party. pic.twitter.com/ZxQgeJz5ht
— Damian Green MP (@DamianGreen) October 22, 2022
Tom Hunt MP has announced that he is supporting Rishi Sunak.
Good chat with @RishiSunak yesterday. It covered a range of topics. I always felt that he was a very impressive person. Now more than ever we need stability and economic competition after the chaos of the last few weeks. Rishi is the only man for the job. He has my full support.
— Tom Hunt MP (@tomhunt1988) October 22, 2022
Kemi Badenoch pledges to support Rishi Sunak
Kemi Badenoch has announced she is backing Rishi Sunak to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister.
In an article for the Sunday Times, Badenoch, secretary of state for international trade, writes: “Mrs Thatcher won public trust and three elections in a row by making it about us, not her. We need someone who can do the same. I think this person is Rishi Sunak.
“I worked with Rishi at the Treasury when he was chancellor. Like any colleague we had our differences, which I explained when we were competitors in the same competition.
“Now it’s imperative that he let people know the decisions he made that he knew were absolutely right.”
Updated at 18.23 BST
Mansfield Tory MP Ben Bradley has announced he will back Boris Johnson.
Updated at 17.49 BST