The Tory leadership race is getting increasingly crowded: a dozen candidates are now bidding for the top job. Rishi Sunak remains the front runner, but can he hold off challenges from fellow favourites Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt? Around half of Tory MPs have nailed their colours to the mast; you can read the exhaustive list of who’s backing who here. Meanwhile, here’s a rundown of the main developments:
- Liz Truss launched her leadership bid last night, promising to ‘start cutting taxes from day one’ in an article for the Daily Telegraph today.
- Michael Gove endorsed Kemi Badenoch. Her odds of winning went from 80/1 on Thursday to 10/1 this morning.
- The 1922 executive elections are to be held this afternoon. There have been suggestions that the committee could raise the threshold for entry to the race to weed out no-hopers (read more from Katy Balls below).
- The centrist candidate Jeremy Hunt announced that Esther McVey would be his deputy prime minister.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in