The second round of voting takes place this afternoon (July 14) in the race to be the new leader of the Conservative Party – and the next Prime Minister. A result is expected around 3pm, with six candidates still in the hunt.
Whoever receives the least votes will be eliminated. There will then be other rounds of voting until just two candidates are left – then the party members will decide which of the two they want as leader.
Conservative MPs will today choose between the following: Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt. Sunak received the most votes in the first round, securing 88, with Mordaunt second on 67.
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This morning, Sunak was questioned on whether he would stay in the UK if he fails in his bid to become prime minister. The former Chancellor, who previously held a US Green Card including for some time while he was at the Treasury, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I was living and working and studying in America at the time but after that I returned to the United Kingdom and decided to try and serve my country as an MP and then in Government and now, hopefully, if I’m fortunate enough, as prime minister.
“That’s because I believe I’m the best person to lead us through the challenges we face, do that in an honest and responsible way. But also I know I’ve got the energy, the experience and the vision to grow our economy, grasp the opportunities I see ahead of us.”
Meanwhile, supporters of Liz Truss, who formally launched her campaign today, urged backers of Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch to throw their weight behind the Foreign Secretary. Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary who is a key figure in the Truss campaign, told Sky News: “The reason why I think that supporters of Suella and Kemi should come and join Liz is because a lot of their policies are in a very similar direction, about having a free economy, about making sure we stand up for the United Kingdom and be proud of our country.”
Elsewhere, former Brexit minister Lord Frost launched a scathing attack on Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt, saying she was not up to the job when she was his deputy in talks with the EU. Speaking on TalkTV, Lord Frost said she lacked a grasp of the detail, was unwilling to deliver tough messages to Brussels, and that he had had to ask Boris Johnson to replace her.
“I am quite surprised at where she is in this leadership race. She was my deputy – notionally, more than really – in the Brexit talks last year,” he said. “I felt she did not master the detail that was necessary in the negotiations last year. She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the European Union when that was necessary.
“She wasn’t fully accountable, she wasn’t always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. This became such a problem that, after six months, I had to ask the Prime Minister to move her on and find somebody else to support me.”
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