Tory leadership: Kemi Badenoch backs Rishi Sunak to be the next PMon October 22, 2022 at 5:46 pm

Boris Johnson has reached the 100 nominations by Tory MPs needed to enter the race to become the next prime minister, campaign sources claim.

This is far more than the number of publicly declared backers for Mr Johnson, which stands at 50, according to BBC research.

Rishi Sunak is ahead of Mr Johnson on nominations and is expected to declare his candidacy soon.

Penny Mordaunt is still the only candidate to say she is running.

Tory MPs have told the BBC’s political Editor Chris Mason the claims Mr Johnson has reached the threshold to enter the first round of voting in the Conservative leadership race are “hogwash”.

Mr Johnson’s campaign has not released the names of the new backers.

The hopefuls have until 14:00 BST on Monday to find 100 backers. If any candidate reaches 156 nominations out of the 357 Tory MPs the race will be reduced to two candidates, as there will not be enough MPs left to support a third candidate.

It will then go to an online ballot of the Conservative party membership, with the result to be announced on Friday.

But if the party’s MPs get behind just one candidate, we could have a new prime minister by Monday afternoon.

Within moments of those around Boris Johnson claiming they have hit the threshold of 100 MPs backing the former prime minister, there was scepticism from other Conservative MPs.

Among the phrases being used are “hogwash”, “absolute garbage” and “clearly nonsense”.

Why?

Well, the publicly declared number of backers is much, much lower and – bluntly – his track record when it comes to truth is patchy.

These races are all about generating momentum, even a sense of inevitability.

There are MPs inclined to back him but keen to keep their counsel for now – but you can expect a blizzard of demands that Mr Johnson’s team produce a list if their claim is to be seen to be credible.

Polling suggests Mr Johnson would be favourite to win a members’ vote.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Transport Secretary Anne Marie Trevelyan – plus former home secretary Priti Patel – have thrown their weight behind Mr Johnson.

His supporters say he is the only contender to have the backing of the voting public after winning the 2019 general election. Mr Johnson still has a Parliamentary investigation hanging over him over whether he lied to MPs about Covid lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.

Some leading figures in the party have reacted with horror to the prospect of a second Johnson premiership, with former leader Lord Hague warning the party would enter a “death spiral”.

According to the BBC’s running total of MPs who have gone on the record with support, Mr Sunak – who was beaten by Ms Truss in the last Tory leadership election – currently has 112 backers.

His supporters include former chancellor and health secretary Sajid Javid, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab.

Pointing to the parliamentary probe facing Mr Johnson, Mr Raab told the BBC: “We cannot go backwards. We cannot have another episode of the Groundhog Day, of the soap opera of Partygate”.

He said he was “very confident” Mr Sunak would stand, adding: “I think the critical issue here is going to be the economy. Rishi had the right plan in the summer and I think it is the right plan now.”

House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the last leadership election, has 21 backers according to BBC research. More than half of the Parliamentary party has yet to say which way they will vote.

Launching her campaign on Twitter on Friday, Ms Mordaunt said she would “unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next [general election]”.

Mordaunt backer Conservative MP Bob Seely said “I think we owe the country a collective responsibility to apologise” and said he believes Ms Mordaunt has the best chance of providing “unity and leadership” within the party.

Among those to have ruled themselves out of the race are Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – who has said he is “leaning” towards supporting Mr Johnson – and current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Boris Johnson was ejected from office in July after a string of scandals, but the replacement chosen by the Tory Party, Liz Truss, lasted just 45 days, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

She stood down on Thursday, after a series of humiliating U-turns forced on her by an adverse reaction to her tax policies in the financial markets.