Can Truss unite the Tory right?

The news that Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries are backing Liz Truss is significant. That Boris’s two most dedicated Cabinet supporters are backing Truss is a clear sign to other Johnsonites to follow them. It is also, given Rees-Mogg’s ERG pedigree, an attempt to get the party’s right to swing behind Truss. This effort by the Truss campaign has been complicated by the fact that in the referendum she backed Remain.

Also on the right, Suella Braverman’s supporters are confident that she has the numbers to make the 20 threshold to be on the first ballot, and is most likely to secure the 30 votes needed to progress into the next round. The same goes for Kemi Badenoch, who is having a very good contest having won several impressive endorsements and grabbing the attention of the grassroots. Whether Priti Patel will stand or not is still not clear. This will complicate any Truss effort to unite the right—and there are some who will be reluctant to ever back someone who supported Remain, as Steve Baker told LBC’s Andrew Marr tonight.