With Conservative leadership contest underway again, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt should unite to prevent ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson from returning to Downing Street, The Times has cited an unnamed cabinet minister as suggesting.
The minister claimed that “we [the UK] just need someone competent to get us through these incredibly difficult times and that person can’t be Boris.”
According to the source, “Rishi and Penny need to talk about a deal. The priority has to be stopping Boris at all costs.”
The insider also suggested that Sunak should offer Mordaunt the job of foreign secretary and keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, and that “whatever happens Jeremy has to stay to reassure the markets.”
The claims came amid media reports that the ex-Chancellor was leading the race to become the next UK Prime Minister as he reached the 100-nomination threshold on Friday night to make it to the next stage of the Tory leadership race.
Sunak, who has yet to formally announce his intention to run, reportedly passed the threshold after an array of influential Tory members declared their support for the former Chancellor. They included another ex-Chancellor, Sajid Javid, former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Philp, and former Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson.
Javid, for his part, insisted that the UK “desperately needs economic stability, hard-headed decision-making and strong leadership,” and that “it is abundantly clear that Rishi Sunak has what it takes to match the challenges we face.”
In an apparent nod to BoJo, Javid said that he believes “it is in the national interest to have a strong Conservative Party,” adding, “the only way for our party to reclaim our values and recover our reputation for stewardship is to move on from mistakes of the past and come together to focus on the future.”
A tally by the BBC has meanwhile revealed that a total of 42 MPs had already publicly supported Johnson while 21 had backed Mordaunt, who became the first to formally declare her candidacy. She stressed on Friday that she was running for “a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest.”
The tally came as Trade Minister Sir James Duddridge, who is supporting Johnson, said that BoJo “is coming home and is up for it [the Tory leadership race]." The former PM is on a flight back from a holiday in the Dominican Republic, and is due to arrive in London later on Saturday.
The Telegraph previously reported that Johnson is privately calling on Tory MPs support his return to Downing Street, and that he ostensibly presses Sunak to reach out and “get back together” in the leadership race.
Every Conservative leadership candidate will need the support of at least 100 MPs to make it to the next round, in which the Tory members will vote for the next PM in an online poll. The results of the vote are expected on September 27.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Liz Truss stepped down after just six weeks in office, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history. Her resignation followed weeks of UK market turmoil and unrest within her party, caused by the government unveiling its emergency tax-slashing mini-budget late last month.