LONDON | Attacks escalated Thursday against Penny Mordaunt, the virtually unknown but rising foreign secretary in the race to succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as a second vote today must knock out at least one of six remaining candidates.
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A week after the announcement of Boris Johnson’s resignation, which has been swept away by cascading departures within a scandal-weary government, Ms Mordaunt, a 49-year-old former defense secretary, would beat all her rivals in one last duel, according to a YouGov poll.
The candidates, who are still in the running to succeed the prime minister in September, were due to be heard behind closed doors on Thursday by Conservative MPs, who vote to continue the scan of candidates.
After a first round on Wednesday, former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak – whose resignation on July 4 had helped spark the executive branch hemorrhage – emerged victorious, followed by Penny Mordaunt ahead of Secretary of State Liz Truss.
Anti woke up
If criticism on the party’s right has so far focused on Rishi Sunak, some of whom denounced a “socialist” responsible for toppling Boris Johnson, the slaps are now aimed at Penny Mordaunt.
In a spiteful campaign, some Tories have accused her of taking too “vigilant” positions after she declared that “trans women are women” when she was Secretary of State for Equality.
Since becoming a contestant, Penny Mordaunt has completely changed her language and even attempted a transphobic joke during their kick-off meeting on Wednesday.
“I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said everyone needs a Willie (Whitelaw, the former Prime Minister’s number two). A woman like me doesn’t have one,” she said with a roar of laughter. In English, “willy” also means penis.
David Frost, the former Brexit negotiator, questioned her professional qualities when she worked for him and spoke to TV channel Talk about “serious reservations” about her ability to lead the country.
Some conservatives still see it as the best option to turn the page of the Johnson era and its share of scandals. However, according to a study by Savanta ComRes, only 11% of Britons can recognize their name from their face. Some even mistake her for the singer Adele.
Other candidates still in the running are MP Tom Tugendhat, government legal adviser Suella Braverman and ex-equality secretary Kemi Badenoch.
More votes are scheduled for next week to reach two finalists before the July 22 parliamentary recess, who will then be decided by party members – 160,000 voters – in the last internal election of 2019. The result is expected on September 5th.
Truss starts
Another serious candidate, Chief of Diplomacy Liz Truss, launched her campaign on Thursday. “I will campaign like a conservative and I will govern like a conservative,” chanted the 46-year-old candidate.
Her supporters, particularly among those loyal to the ousted prime minister, are hoping she will benefit from the carryover of votes from two other right-wing candidates who are still in the running: Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman.
For his part, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who left on Wednesday, decided to support Rishi Sunak, “one of the most correct, straight forward and honest people” in politics.
Mr Sunak, 42, maintains a slick image but has faced criticism for his wealth and his wealthy wife’s tax status. His critics also accuse him of not doing enough to relieve households choked by the cost of living crisis, while inflation hit a record 9.1% in May.
“I don’t judge people by their bank accounts, I judge them by who they are,” he told the BBC.
Among the six candidates are four women, one black candidate and two people of Indian descent. This historical diversity in a country that has never known a non-white head of government is not an issue in the election campaign, initially spared from racist or sexist controversies.
Three televised debates are planned for the next few days.