Rishi Sunak already has the support of 142 MPs.
London:
Former UK finance minister Rishi Sunak could become the country’s next prime minister if his rivals Boris Johnson and Penny Mordant fail to garner the support of 100 lawmakers by tomorrow. Sunak already has the support of 142 members of parliament.
Boris Johnson, who was ousted as premier in July and demitted office in September, currently has the support of 59 lawmakers. Penny Mordent has 29.
If both Johnson and Mordaunt fail to win the support of 100 lawmakers by Monday, Rishi Sunak will automatically become prime minister.
Under the rules announced on Thursday, a maximum of three Tory MPs will be able to run, as the party has set a limit of 100 MPs for candidates, even on the ballot, and the party has a total of 357 MPs.
If there is a three-way confrontation, lawmakers will hold an indicative vote on Monday, with the final two shortlisted candidates being put to an accelerated online vote by some 170,000 Tory members, with the new leader being elected by next Friday.
Announcing his official candidature today, Rishi Sunak said his aim is to fix the economy, unite the party and “deliver for the country”.
The two met last night amid speculation of a deal between Johnson and Sunak, despite Sunak’s role in Johnson’s collapse as prime minister left acrimony. Those discussions did not yield any clear results and there is no mention of Johnson in Sunak’s announcement today.