Another contender kicked out of the race to replace British Prime Minister Johnson

LONDON –

Conservative Party lawmakers in Britain on Thursday eliminated one of the remaining six contenders in the race to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as front-runner Rishi Sunak worked to stave off a boost from surprise challenger Penny Mordaunt.

Attorney General Suella Braverman received the fewest votes of her colleagues, 27, and was eliminated from the race, leaving five contenders.

Sunak, who resigned as Britain’s treasury chief last week, got the most votes, 101, with junior trade minister Mordaunt second with 83. Bookmaker Ladbrokes said Mordaunt was now the favorite to win. win the leadership election, followed by Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz. Truss, who received 64 votes.

Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch, a rising star on the party’s libertarian right, and centrist MP Tom Tugendhat remain in the race, though Tugendhat won just 32 votes and is under pressure to drop out.

However, Tugendhat said he would fight and participate in the televised candidate debates on Friday, Sunday and Monday.

More rounds of voting by the 358 Conservative lawmakers will take place from Monday until just two candidates remain.

The final two contenders will face a runoff of some 180,000 Conservative Party members across the country. The winner is scheduled to be announced on September 5 and will automatically become prime minister, without the need for national elections.

Truss is trying to consolidate support from lawmakers on the right of the party, who are wary of Sunak’s high spending in support of people and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, and the tax increases it brought when COVID-19 hit the British economy. .

In a campaign launch speech, Truss cited her international experience rallying support for Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion and striking deals with other countries in her previous role as commerce secretary. She said that she would put the British economy on an “upward trajectory” by 2024, which is the deadline for the next national election.

Sunak argues that the immediate tax cuts promised by his rivals are unwise amid economic shockwaves from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He said his “number one economic priority is to tackle inflation,” which is expected to hit 11% by the end of this year, before he cuts taxes.

Sunak has also faced accusations that he is not aware of the struggles of ordinary people due to his wealth. He is a former investment banker and his wife is the daughter of the billionaire founder of the Indian tech company Infosys.

“I don’t judge people by their bank accounts. I judge them by their character,” Sunak told the BBC. “And I think people can judge me for my actions in the last two years.”

The contest was sparked when Johnson stepped down as Conservative leader last week after government ministers began resigning en masse over months of ethics scandals. He will remain in office as caretaker prime minister until his replacement is chosen as party chief.

Truss had been seen as one of the favorites, but he got fewer votes on both Wednesday and Thursday than Mordaunt, who scored high in polls of party members.

Unlike Sunak and Truss, Mordaunt did not hold a senior position in the Johnson government, although she was a junior minister. An affable politician from a military family, she is seen as a breath of fresh air.

Despite pleas from party officials to keep the campaign upbeat, supporters of the respective contenders are attacking the competition’s experience and proficiency.

Former Brexit negotiator David Frost, a hard-line eurosceptic and Truss ally, said Mordaunt could not be trusted to uphold the firm Brexit terms favored by his wing of the Conservative Party. He claimed that when Mordaunt was his deputy in the Brexit negotiations, he “didn’t always send strong messages to the European Union when necessary”.

Legislator David Davis, a Mordaunt supporter, criticized the negative campaign.

“It’s absolutely a watch,” he said. “You get to the point where someone steps forward and appears to be the real challenger, and then… the incoming fire starts.”

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