Rishi heading for No10 as key Boris backers switch sides and Penny scrambles for supporters
24 October 2022, 12:11 | Updated: 24 October 2022, 13:20
Rishi Sunak is on the verge of becoming Prime Minister after Boris Johnson dropped his Tory leadership bid and Penny Mordaunt struggles to reach the required threshold.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Mr Sunak could be named as the new PM as early as 2.15pm, having reached the required support threshold of 100 MPs that his rival Ms Mordaunt is yet to hit.
The former Chancellor has received public backing from over 180 Tory MPs - more than half the total - and is racking up more numbers as prominent supporters of Mr Johnson including Simon Clarke, Priti Patel and Nadhim Zahawi vouch for him.
Ms Mordaunt has until 2pm to garner the backing of 100 MPs in order for Conservative Party members to get a vote on the outcome, instead of the job automatically going to Mr Sunak.
Just before midday her campaign team claimed she had already got the support of 90 MPs, and said "for the sake of the party, it's important our members have their say".
Mr Sunak would be the country's first non-white premier, and, at 42, the youngest since the Napoleonic Wars.
News of Mr Sunak's impending success has cooled the markets after weeks of turmoil as government borrowing costs have eased and the Pound has rallied.
James O'Brien berates MPs for treating the leadership contest like TV
Mr Johnson, the only other MP to throw his hat into the ring, announced on Sunday night that he was withdrawing from the contest.
In a statement he insisted he had the backing of 102 nominations including a proposer and a seconder, and said there "is a good chance I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members".
But he said he had decided "this would simply not be the right think to do".
Read more: Who's backing who in the race to be Tory leader and PM - live tracker
He added he had attempted to make deals with both Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt, but had been unsuccessful.
He did not say which of the remaining two he was backing, but many of his supporters - including Nadhim Zahawi and James Cleverly - have since given their backing to Mr Sunak.
Sir Keir Starmer shares his immediate reaction to Boris Johnson running for PM.
The slimmed-down Tory leadership contest was triggered when Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation just 45 days into the job.
Her government had been engulfed in weeks of political turmoil, sparked by her catastrophic mini Budget that crashed the pound and sent household costs soaring.
It led to the sacking of her first Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, but the disarray did not end there - she then lost her Home Secretary Suella Braverman allegedly over a security breach, and then Tory MPs rebelled in a chaotic parliamentary vote on fracking amid confusion over whether it was a de facto confidence vote.
Ms Truss announced her resignation outside Downing Street on Thursday, saying a new leader would be selected quickly to "ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country's economic stability and national security".
