LONDON (Dispatches) -- As the race for the leadership of the UK ruling Conservative Party heats up, the fight for who will become Britain’s next Prime Minister has turned ugly.
With bitter exchanges, leaked “dodgy dossiers” and attacks on rivals’ policies, the contest could quickly turn into a large scale braw; a flurry of weekend announcements has put the total count of top job hopefuls at 11. A large number, filled with big and small names.
Critics say a long drawn out contest will deepen economic uncertainty amid a cost of living crisis. Onlookers also fear that the race is full of candidates who have a track record of concerning policy making.
It’s far too early to say who will come out on top. But what we do know is that the future of our country will rest in the hands of a minority of Tory paying members who get the final say on who runs the whole country. Something which non-Tory members may find frustrating.
A new poll of Conservative Party members suggests Penny Mordaunt is the emerging front runner in its leadership race, British media reported Tuesday.
Briefly the defense secretary under Theresa May and currently the international trade minister, the Portsmouth North MP was backed by almost 20% of Tory members in a survey by Conservative Home.
Mordaunt is closely followed by former local government minister Kemi Badenoch, on nearly 19%, with ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in third position on around 12%.
Attorney general Suella Braverman and foreign secretary Liz Truss both received support of about 11% of those asked.
The results could give an early indication of who might end up being the country’s prime minister if they are elected as the leader of the party by members.
Some 842 Tory members were polled in the Conservative Home survey, but there are around 200,000 current members of the party. In the last leadership race in 2019, which saw Boris Johnson elected, there was an 87% voter turnout.
Some 11 hopefuls have thrown their hats in the ring so far, but this is expected to be slimmed down relatively quickly.
There are still several rounds to go through, with candidates requiring 20 nominations from other Tory MPs by the end of today to be officially considered.