Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak Y Penny Mordaunt They are the candidates who, today, aspire to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At the moment only Mordaunt has officially launched her campaign, but the other two contenders seem be preparing for the electoral process. Before two o’clock on Monday afternoon, each of them will have to get at least 100 of the 357 deputies Tories endorse them. If they fail, they will be discarded.
With the countdown activated, some Conservative MPs have already started to declare their allegiance to any of the contenders. Some Tories have claimed that Sunak has exceeded the threshold of 100 deputies in his favorthe necessary votes to be able to stand for voting.
In the meantime, the former prime minister, has immediately returned from his vacation in the Caribbean to seek the support of parliamentarians. But Rishi Sunak has been out front for the past few hours and is the favorite to win with close to 90 publicly declared sponsors, including Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid.
[La amenaza del retorno de Boris Johnson acentúa el desprestigio del Partido Conservador británico]
Nevertheless, Johnson has the support of six current cabinet ministers: Ben Wallace, Simon Clarke, Chris Heaton-Harris, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Alok Sharma and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, while former Home Secretary Priti Patel is also believed to be considering supporting him.
Thus, although there are still many votes to be known, Sunak seems to be leading the race. But if he wants to win first he will have to convince his party that is the man who will save the country from chaos. In his favor, the arguments he presented in the summer primaries, in which he was defeated by Truss in the final round, have been validated in recent weeks. And it is that the former Minister of Finance described the tax cuts of his rival as “fairy tales” and warned that his economic plan would lead to higher borrowing costs.
Nearly two months later his prophecies came true as Truss’s ‘mini-budget’ triggered a bond market crash and the pound plunged to record lows. Now, his economic prudence makes him the favorite of many conservatives who see him as the only one capable of reversing the current situation.
“He has the plan and the credibility to restore financial stability, help bring down inflation and deliver tax cuts that are sustainable over time, and unite the Conservatives by bringing top talent into government to deliver for the British people,” said the former deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab on Twitter.
The problem is that now Sunak is not facing Truss, but, predictably, his main rival will be his previous leader. And that presents him with new challenges because for many, the former finance minister is a traitor.
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss in the British Summer Leadership Race.
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Johnson’s downfall
For many colleagues in the ranks, the former finance minister is the traitor who stabbed Johnson last July. In the midst of the crisis over the Chris Pincher sex scandal, deputy to the then British prime minister, Sunak resigned from his post, prompting a wave of resignations from cabinet members that precipitated Johnson’s departure from Downing Street.
In his farewell letter, Sunak already made it clear that beyond the scandals, the discrepancy in the public budgets It was one of the triggers. “We both want a high-growth, low-tax economy, but this can only be achieved responsibly if we are prepared to work hard, make sacrifices and make tough decisions,” he noted.
Penny Mordaunt could emerge stronger from the rivalry between Sunak and Johnson
In this sense, it is to be expected that, if both compete for leadership, Sunak will try to criticize Johnson’s economic policies, as he supported some of the tax cut proposals. However, it is early to know if that will be enough to overcome hostility of those members who still think of him as a traitor.
[Penny Mordaunt, la diputada que Johnson despreciaba y que ahora podría ocupar su puesto]
Furthermore, the rivalry between the two could reinforce Mordaunt, who has less experience, but far fewer enemies. Perhaps that is why, according to The Times, Sunak is thinking of reconciling with his former boss. Similarly, Boris Johnson may be privately urging his former ally to join forces, the Telegraph claims.
