A campaign that promises to be particularly harsh. Eleven Conservative MPs are now in the running, Sunday July 10, in the United Kingdom to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Among the last to launch Sunday evening, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss, 46 years old. “I will fight in this election as a Conservative and govern as a Conservative”declared the head of diplomacy, in the columns of the Daily Telegraph. She is among the favorites in a competition which also includes MP Rehman Chishti who declared himself shortly after her.
Sunday morning, it was the Secretary of State for International Trade, Penny Mordaunt, 49, who announced her candidacy. This former navy reservist, who was the first woman to hold the post of defense minister in 2019, insisted on the need for public debate “revolves a little less around the leader”to focus on the ” vessel “.
Thank you @GeorgeFreemanMP Penny Mordaunt: a Prime Minister for unity, prosperity and security – CapX… https://t.co/u5wTtxjOY8
A clear desire to get out of the endless succession of scandals that have punctuated Boris Johnson’s mandate, until leaving him no choice but to resign Thursday, after an avalanche of departures in his government.
Revelations and Stink Bombs
Very open, the competition for the head of the conservative party – and therefore for Downing Street, the tories being the majority in the House of Commons – bodes well for an electric summer, with its share of revelations and stink balls.
On Saturday evening, former ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid in turn announced their candidacies in the columns of the conservative newspaper Sunday Telegraph. Sajid Javid insisted on his plan to reduce taxes, distancing himself from the line of Rishi Sunak, who is among the favorites and wants to wait for a consolidation of public finances before considering embarking on such a path, in a Kingdom United in the grip of an inflation not seen for forty years.
“Without tax cuts we will not have growth”, said Sajid Javid on the BBC on Sunday, who announced his resignation from the government on Tuesday launched the bleeding – around sixty departures in all – which proved fatal to Boris Johnson. Sajid Javid, 52, was followed nine minutes later by finance minister Rishi Sunak, but he said they had not consulted.
Very popular for the multiple economic support measures deployed at the height of the pandemic, Mr. Sunak, 42, found himself weakened for a time by the revelation of the recourse of his wealthy wife to an advantageous tax system. First heavyweight to have launched, it seems to have succeeded in bouncing back and enjoys many support from deputies.
But he risks suffering the wrath of Camp Johnson, who suspects him of treason. Rishi Sunak apparently did not notify the Prime Minister before leaving the government.
Fifteen applications expected
Another serious candidate, Nadhim Zahawi: as Secretary of State, he had piloted the British anti-Covid-19 vaccination program, before moving, last week, from the Ministry of Education to that of Finance.
He sees his start to the campaign weighed down by the revelation in the press of a tax investigation targeting him. “We are clearly getting dirty”he replied on Sky News, assuring that he was not aware of this investigation and had ” still “ paid and declared their taxes in the UK. He assured that in the event of an election he would make his income public each year.
The other competitors, whose chances of success appear much lower, are the Minister for Transport, Grant Shapps, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, as well as theattorney general – in charge of legal advice to the government – Suella Braverman, and the former secretary of state for equality, Kemi Badenoch. Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced on Saturday that he was giving up.
In total, the authorities of the party anticipate about fifteen candidacies, an influx which suggests an increase in the thresholds in terms of sponsorships or number of votes in the first part of the process.
But Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee, responsible for the internal organization of the party, said to himself ” confident “ Sunday on LBC radio that the two finalists will be known by July 20.
The more precise timetable is expected on Monday, for a possible closing of applications on Tuesday, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The objective mentioned is to ensure that the final vote, open only to members of the Conservative Party, makes it possible to designate the winner by the beginning of September.
