So far, nine candidates have come forward to take over from Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party, and with it as prime minister. This includes Jeremy Hunt, who had previously made a throw to the party leadership, and several former ministers.
The last name in the list is that of Penny Mordaunt, who became the first female minister of Defence in 2019. “Leadership needs to change,” she wrote on Twitter. “It should be less about the leader, and more about the ship.”Mordaunt, Under-Secretary of State for international trade, is convinced Brexiteer and in the polls at the bookmakers she throws high eyes.
Jeremy Hunt and former prime minister Sajid Javid have announced their candidacies. Both of them also competed in 2019, after Theresa May threw in the towel. Health Minister Javid was one of the first to leave the government at the beginning of the month. He indirectly gave the go-ahead for an exodus of Cabinet members.
The new finance minister Nadhim Zahawi also raised his hand, as did his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. Sunak also seems to be a good candidate, although there is also an integrity affair attached to his name. His wife, who is not a resident of the UK, managed to evade millions in taxes at the moment when he, on the contrary, raised tax rates.
