LIZ Truss's campaign has claimed to be in talks with other potential defectors from Rishi Sunak’s camp after an MP switched sides.
The Tory representative for Kingswood became the first MP to publicly change allegiance, explaining his decision in an article for The Telegraph.
Skidmore said he defected from the Sunak campaign because he believed the former chancellor had been “consistently changing position” to “chase votes”.
In a statement, he said: “Initially, I had backed Rishi Sunak during the MPs’ stage of the contest. Yet over the past few weeks I have grown increasingly concerned by his campaign’s consistently changing position, especially on the economy, to chase votes.
“I am convinced that we need a bolder, more positive approach to the UK’s future. Above all, we need a leader who will unite the party.
“Liz Truss has demonstrated that she has the leadership and personal ability to bring us all together.
“We cannot afford to be seen as a divided party and, for me, I now believe that Liz is the best person to unite us and the country under her leadership in meeting the challenges we face head-on.”
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Foreign Secretary’s leadership bid insisted they were "in talks with others from camp Rishi" and believe there could be an "exodus" leaving the former chancellor behind.
“Rishi’s flip-flopping on the economy is clearly upsetting a lot of his backers," they said.
“Our supporters like Liz’s optimistic vision for the future, her Conservative plan for the economy based around tax cuts and her credentials as a leader who will stand up to dictators like (Vladimir) Putin and prioritise national defence.”
However, allies of Sunak played down the defection - with former minister Theresa Viliers arguing that MPs "inevitably change their minds" during leadership battles.
She added: “Rishi had a tremendously good hustings in Darlington last night, in the Sky hustings he won over that audience, he’s getting a tremendous reception on the ground – he’s campaigning to win.”
Her comments came as former Tory leader Lord Howard said he agrees with deputy prime minister Dominic Raab’s comment that Truss’s tax cut plans would be an “electoral suicide note”.
Lord Howard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We can only hope to win the next election if inflation is under control, borrowing is under control and interest rates are coming down.
“Rishi Sunak is the only candidate whose policies have any chance of delivering that outcome.”
