Oh dear. It appears the blue-on-blue warfare that has dominated the Tory leadership campaign is taking its toll. After reports last week that members of Liz Truss’s team hope Rishi Sunak will decline any job she offers him should she win, it appears the former chancellor has taken such briefings to heart.
When a Radio 2 interviewer asked Rishi Sunak today whether he would serve as Liz Truss’ Health Secretary, Sunak reacted with an amused laugh and answered: ‘you really need to agree with the big things because it’s tough… and I wouldn’t want to end up in a situation like that again.’
Sunak is following in the footsteps of Jeremy Hunt. After the 2019 leadership contest, the former foreign secretary declined Boris Johnson’s offer of defence secretary – concluding he would rather spend time with his children.
Of course, Team Sunak insist the race is not over. But presuming the polls are correct and Truss is far ahead, how many foes will she face on the backbenches? She can already count Sunak and Michael Gove.
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