The Conservative leadership contest descended into acrimony on Saturday, as Grant Shapps entered the fray with an attack apparently aimed at frontrunner Rishi Sunak over “plots” to get rid of Boris Johnson.
It came as Tory MPs told The Independent that many of those who remained in government posts or accepted ministerial jobs this week were angry at Mr Sunak for his “treachery” in helping oust Mr Johnson from No 10.
The transport secretary, launching his bid by saying he still subscribed to “Johnsonism”, defended his loyalty to the prime minister and condemned those who turned on him despite “benefitting from his patronage”.
In stinging remarks to The Times, Mr Shapps said: “I have not spent the last few turbulent years plotting or briefing against the prime minister. I have not been mobilising a leadership campaign behind his back.”
It cames as Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt both launched their campaigns with pledges to cut corporation tax. Mr Javid took an apparent swipe at Mr Sunak, saying he wouldn’t have introduced the National Insurance rise if he had been chancellor.
Nadhim Zahawi, Mr Sunak’s replacement as chancellor, also announced his bid to become the next PM with a pledge on Saturday to lower taxes and boost defence spending.
It followed defence secretary Ben Wallace’s announcement that he would not be running, despite being a favourite of the Tory grassroots, saying he wanted to focus on his job “keeping this country safe”.
The Independent understands Mr Wallace will not be endorsing anyone at this stage in the contest. But his backers said many of the MPs who were keen to see him become PM are angry at Mr Sunak, and are unlikely to transfer support to the former chancellor.
Mr Sunak won the approval of several more MPs on Saturday, including the Northern Ireland select committee chair Simon Hoare and former Tory vice-chair Bim Afolami, pushing him out in front with 17 endorsements.
But the campaign of rival Suella Braverman picked up some early momentum, as right-wingers such as Steve Baker, Desmond Swayne and Richard Drax flocked to her campaign promise to deliver “serious” tax cuts.
In his slick campaign launch video on Friday, Mr Sunak doubled down on his reputation as a book-balancing fiscal conservative with a warning against “fairytale” promises.
In a sign most candidates will use the tax issue to gang up on the ex-chancellor, Mr Shapps also pledged a “clear path to lower taxes”. And Mr Zahawi pledged to lower taxes for individuals, families and businesses – claiming he was the right person to “stabilise the economy”.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Hunt and Mr Javid said they would not scrap the former chancellor’s plans to raise corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent in April, but reduce the rate to 15 per cent.
It came as The Independent revealed that Inland Revenue experts are still investigating Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs. HMRC became involved after inquiries were initially launched into Mr Zahawi’s finances by the National Crime Agency in 2020. A senior Whitehall source confirmed that the tax investigation is currently “unresolved”.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss, set to enter the contest imminently, has also indicated she is keen to see lower taxes. The Mail on Sunday reported that she will pledge to reverse Mr Sunak’s national insurance rise.
Tom Tugendhat also gained more backers, with some sympathetic MPs claiming that he was gaining more support than rival Jeremy Hunt in his bid to represent the moderate, “One Nation” wing of the party.
Penny Mordaunt picked up several endorsements from senior figures on Saturday – including Sir Charles Walker and Caroline Dinenage – though she has yet to declare her candidacy.
However, Ms Mordaunt, an ardent Brexiteer, is struggling to win support from right-wingers in the party over her stance on trans rights, according to one MP. Some activists shared her statement that “trans women are women and trans men are men” while equalities minister in 2018.
Kemi Badenoch, who announced her bid to be leader in an op-ed for The Times, made clear she wanted to be seen as the anti-woke candidate with an attack on “identity politics” and left-wing rhetoric about “social justice”.
One Nation moderates told The Independent they were optimistic that the campaign could draw a line under a long, divisive period of Brexit battles and culture war issues promoted by Johnson allies such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries.
Stephen Hammond – a senior figure in the One Nation group backing Mr Tugendhat – said it was vital to get a fresh start so the government was viewed “as one with integrity so we can regain trust” as well as “one that is competent”.
Grandee Sir Malcolm Rifkind said he was hopeful that the key issue in the race would be personal integrity, and candidates’ ability to convince the nation they offer a fresh start.
He said the leadership should go to someone who is not “tainted” by a close association with Mr Johnson, so the caretaker PM’s time at No 10 appears “an interlude, rather than a fundamental malaise in the Conservative Party”.
Tory MP David Mundell mourned the exit of Mr Wallace. He said the defence secretary had “decency and integrity” and projects “calm competence, compared to the drama of recent months”.
Meanwhile, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, 1922 Committee treasurer, said rules could be changed early next week to thin down the crowded field and speed up the process.
He told Times Radio this could be done by upping the number of signatures from MPs required to be nominated, and by increasing the threshold of votes candidates must receive to progress to the next round.
To take part, candidates need eight nominations. Candidates must then get 5 per cent of the votes to stay in the running – 18 votes – during the first round. They must get 10 per cent, 36 MPs, in the second round. The candidate with the fewest votes is then eliminated until two candidates remain.
It came as a spokesperson for Mr Johnson said whispers that he was planning to stand down as caretaker PM on Monday in order to run again for Tory leader were completely untrue.
