Britain’s transport secretary on Saturday became the fifth Conservative MP to launch a bid to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a long shot addition to a growing and already acrimonious leadership race.
Grant Shapps, a veteran legislator who first served in the cabinet under former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010, but was not among the current frontrunners in the election to replace Johnson, called for a “strategic” and “quiet” government to be provided. swore off.
His announcement came hours after Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who has impressed in the role amid the war Ukraine And has been one of the favorites of Tory members in several recent polls, saying he would not walk away after discussing the stand with coworkers and family.
“It hasn’t been an easy choice to make, but my focus is on keeping my current job and this great country safe,” he said on Twitter.
The months-long campaign, potentially pitting more than a dozen Conservative lawmakers and several factions of the ruling party against each other, is set to be formalized on Monday, when a committee of backbenchers will set a timetable and rules. meeting to agree on.
– tax debate –
On the opening front is former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who helped kickstart the cabinet rebellion that led to Johnson’s forced resignation on Thursday.
Sunak resigned late Tuesday, prompting dozens more junior aides to follow suit and forcing his former boss to step down as Tory leader after 36 hours.
But Johnson, whose three-year premiership has been defined by scandal, the country’s departure from the European Union and Covid, said he would remain in place until his successor is selected.
The heat of intense campaigning is now knocking.
Members of the party would eventually choose their new leader – from a two-man shortlist in several rounds of voting by all 358 Tory MPs – ahead of the Conservatives’ annual convention in early October.
Along with the Brexit credentials of the candidates, taxation is set to be a key feature of the race, as the UK faces a toxic combination of high inflation and stagnant growth and relatively high tax rates as well as a steep rise in the cost of living. it occurs.
‘conspiracy’
Along with Sunak, attorney general and arch-Brexitier Suella Braverman, relatively unknown former equality minister Cami Badenoch and backbench Tory MP Tom Tugendhat have announced their candidacy.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and the new Finance Minister Nadim Zhawi – who replaced Sunak at the Treasury – are expected to join the crowded fray.
Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was Boris Johnson’s runner-up in 2019, is “almost certain” to run again, aides told UK media.
Former finance and health minister Sajid Javid, who left Johnson’s government on Tuesday, may also stand, but Sunak’s aides have told him to step aside for clearly running into the leadership, The Times reported.
Sunak, far ahead of the truce in the latest poll of party members, garnered immediate support from several senior lawmakers after he announced his stand in a clever video on social media late Friday.
He has also been attacked by Johnson loyalists, in a sign of acrimony that could tarnish the competition.
The Financial Times said on Saturday that Sunak was “very angry” over his resignation from the outgoing prime minister’s team, with a senior official calling him “a treacherous bastard”.
In an indirect swipe at the craze, Shapps said in his leadership announcement that he “has not spent the past few turbulent years conspiring against the prime minister or briefing … (or) a leadership behind his back.” mobilize the campaign”.
interim government
After nearly 60 resignations that triggered his decision to leave, Johnson assembled a new team to rule in the interim, announcing a flurry of junior appointments late Friday.
Downing Street said on Thursday the 58-year-old admitted that “big fiscal decisions should be left to the next prime minister” at the first meeting of its top ministers called hastily.
The Conservatives have declined to say how many eligible members they have, but note that it will be more than the 160,000 who voted in the final leadership contest in 2019.
As the list of candidates grows, some senior lawmakers have warned that the field should be narrowed down quickly and suggested that the members should make the final two-person shortlist weeks before Parliament’s summer break starting after July 21. should be fixed within.
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