Tory Contenders Manoeuvring Hard Behind The Scenes In Race To Replace Boris Johnson
5 min read
Boris Johnson had barely reached the end of his resignation speech when behind the scenes colleagues with ambitions to replace him in Downing Street were firing up their campaigns.
His speech outside No 10 on Thursday climaxed an utterly extraordinary few days in British politics.
To widespread incredulity in Westminster, Johnson just hours earlier was refusing to let go of power, despite mass ministerial resignations and his closest allies advising his time was up.
A government source said there was "a sense of relief" in Downing Street when Johnson finally agreed to announce his resignation, even among those who wanted "to keep fighting for him".
“There are spads (special advisers) and members of staff who have been dealing with horrific amounts of pressure, and the spot had to burst," they said. "It was getting to an awful place."
The same insider said that while Johnson was accused of being delusional, for the outgoing prime minister it was a matter of personal principle. "He prides himself on his resilience," they told PoliticsHome. "He wouldn’t be true to himself if he didn’t fight until it was totally impossible.”
Attention turned almost immediately to the question of who would replace Johnson, and the early signs are that the starting gate will be rather cramped when the race gets underway next week.
The sheer number of Conservative MPs who have expressed an interest – on Friday, somewhat to the puzzlement of Westminster, little-known MPs Rehman Chishti and John Baron said they were thinking about launching campaigns – is why the 1922 Committee is considering raising the number of nominations that a hopeful must secure in order to formally enter the contest.
But even when the list is whittled down to genuine contenders, it remains a strikingly wide field.
Rishi Sunak was the first out of traps when he launched his campaign on Friday afternoon.
It was a predictably slick PR operation, with several Conservative MPs simultaneously tweeting their support for Sunak and his campaign slogan: 'Ready For Rishi?'.
It is thought that Oliver Dowden, the former chairman of the Tory party, is running Sunak's campaign with the support of ex-Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick. Sunak is also expected to be have Health Secretary Matt Hancock, as well as former Treasury PPSs, Claire Coutinho and Craig Williams, on his team.
Sunak's chances of winning had a major boost on Saturday afternoon after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace pulled out of the race.
Wallace was one of few Cabinet ministers whose stock had risen over the past year, largely due to his response to the fall of Kabul and Russia's attack on Ukraine, and polling suggested he was the most popular choice among Tory members who ultimately would choose the winner. There was a feeling, though, that little was known about his politics and where he stood on domestic issues.
Sajid Javid, who announced he was resigning as Health Secretary around 10 minutes before Sunak on Thursday, is "seriously considering" another pop at the top job after falling short in 2019.
On Friday night he spoke at Michael Gove's local Conservative association in Surrey, though allies stressed the event was in his diary long before the collapse of the Johnson regime.
Javid has impressed onlookers with his handling of the tumultous last few days.
"He's handled his first few days more surefootedly than anybody,” said a veteran Tory campaigner and former spad. "He hasn't really said anything wrong, he’s got his tone right in his public statements and his team has made broadly sensible decisions, like pulling him out of the Press Gallery lunch on Thursday, which would have been at the same time as the PM’s resignation."
When Liz Truss announces her candidacy, it'll come as little surprise to anyone who has paid attention to Westminster politics in recent weeks.
[Javid has] handled his first few days more surefootedly than anybody
One of her public backers, Alec Shelbrooke, the Conservative MP for Elmet and Rothwell, revealed on LBC on Thursday that he knew she was running because he contacted her months ago to say he would back her "if the situation was to change".
The Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is a key ally of the Foreign Secretary and has been garnering support for her. "She is incredibly serious about winning," said one Tory party source.
Truss held a number of drinks events with Tory MPs earlier this year, referred to in Westminster as “fizz with Liz”, which Kwarteng is believed to have been involved in. Sources close to her denied these meetings were about leadership manoeuvres.
Backbench MP Tom Tugendhat, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair, is emerging as the preferred choice for the One Nation Group of moderate Conservative MPs, who until recently were split between him and Jeremy Hunt, the former health secetary. Tugendhat has been publicly backed by former Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green and ex-minister Stephen Hammond.
Hunt's leadership campaign, long in the works, is "dropping like a stone," according to one MP.
Nadhim Zahawi, the caretaker Chancellor, is expected to announce his candidacy this weekend.
An ally of Zahawi said that unlike other candidates, who "have been working really hard to make sure they are ready for this moment" by spending weeks briefing to the press, he has been wholly focused on his government responsibilities.
Penny Mordaunt is one of the most popular Conservative MPs among the Tory grassroots but there is doubt over how many Conservative MPs will actually be prepared to vote for her.
Additional reporting by Alain Tolhurst and Eleanor Langford.
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