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By Online Desk
Rishi Sunak is reportedly ahead in the race to be Conservative leader while Boris Johnson was mounting a last-ditch scramble to shore up support among MPs, amid warnings his return as prime minister would lead to a political crisis within a week.
As more senior party figures cautioned that a Johnson comeback would lead to chaos and an early election, Sunak won the support of 150 MPs – just shy of the number needed to keep all but one other rival candidate getting on the slate, reports The Guardian.
The report said Sunak launched his official campaign with a declaration that “fixing the economy” was his priority but he gave no media interviews or formal manifesto showing his proposed programme for government.
In contrast, according to the report, Johnson had still not even formally declared he was running by Sunday evening. He had just 60 publicly revealed supporters, despite the claims of his allies to have reached the threshold of 100 Tory MPs needed.
Asked if Johnson had made it, one of his closest political friends said: “Yes. Verified.”
A leaked WhatsApp message from his campaign manager, Chris Heaton-Harris, told supporters: “I can confirm we have completed all paperwork to be on the ballot tomorrow.”
But MPs close to the rival camps of Sunak and Penny Mordaunt said they did not believe these claims. One supporter of Mordaunt said: “We think it’s all bluffing as usual.”
The Guardian report further added that Johnson has gained the support of seven cabinet ministers, including James Cleverly and Nadhim Zahawi, but despite gaining some momentum on Friday and cutting short his Caribbean holiday, he only added eight new public backers over the weekend.
Johnson’s supporters argued that many of his backers do not need to reveal their names in public because MPs submit their endorsement to the 1922 Committee directly and can do so anonymously, the report said.
Rishi Sunak is reportedly ahead in the race to be Conservative leader while Boris Johnson was mounting a last-ditch scramble to shore up support among MPs, amid warnings his return as prime minister would lead to a political crisis within a week.
As more senior party figures cautioned that a Johnson comeback would lead to chaos and an early election, Sunak won the support of 150 MPs – just shy of the number needed to keep all but one other rival candidate getting on the slate, reports The Guardian.
The report said Sunak launched his official campaign with a declaration that “fixing the economy” was his priority but he gave no media interviews or formal manifesto showing his proposed programme for government.
In contrast, according to the report, Johnson had still not even formally declared he was running by Sunday evening. He had just 60 publicly revealed supporters, despite the claims of his allies to have reached the threshold of 100 Tory MPs needed.
Asked if Johnson had made it, one of his closest political friends said: “Yes. Verified.”
A leaked WhatsApp message from his campaign manager, Chris Heaton-Harris, told supporters: “I can confirm we have completed all paperwork to be on the ballot tomorrow.”
But MPs close to the rival camps of Sunak and Penny Mordaunt said they did not believe these claims. One supporter of Mordaunt said: “We think it’s all bluffing as usual.”
The Guardian report further added that Johnson has gained the support of seven cabinet ministers, including James Cleverly and Nadhim Zahawi, but despite gaining some momentum on Friday and cutting short his Caribbean holiday, he only added eight new public backers over the weekend.
Johnson’s supporters argued that many of his backers do not need to reveal their names in public because MPs submit their endorsement to the 1922 Committee directly and can do so anonymously, the report said.
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