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LAST UPDATE | 24 Oct 2022
RISHI SUNAK HAS become the firm frontrunner to be the next UK prime minister after Boris Johnson ended his comeback bid and rival Penny Mordaunt battled to win sufficient support from Tory MPs.
Sunak, a former chancellor, swiftly hit the threshold of 100 nominations from Conservative colleagues ahead of the deadline of 2pm this afternoon before commanding the public support of about half the parliamentary party.
Mordaunt appears far behind but allies insist they are “confident” she will hit the target, which would see the Commons Leader face off against Sunak in an online ballot of Tory party members.
But if she fails Sunak will effectively receive a “coronation” from Conservative MPs and quickly succeed Liz Truss as prime minister – seven weeks after he lost out to her in the last contest.
A Government source said the new prime minister could be in place as soon as today if the Tory leadership contest does not progress further.
The pound, after a torrid time under Truss, continued to rise and the gilt market cooled, making it cheaper for the Government to borrow money, as Sunak edged towards No 10.
Johnson had returned home from a Caribbean holiday as he plotted a return to No 10 less than two months after being ousted following a series of scandals, but later ruled out standing.
In a statement yesterday evening, he said there was a “very good chance” he could have been back in No 10 by the end of the week if he had stood but admitting he could not unite his warring party.
His efforts to “reach out” to his rivals – Sunak and Mordaunt – to work together in the national interest had not been successful, he said, so he was dropping out.
He lagged far behind Sunak in public declarations of support but claimed to have amassed at least 102 nominations.
Sunak has received backing from about half of the 357 Tory MPs, giving him grounds to say he is the best-placed candidate to try to govern the unruly party.
Mordaunt, who has around 26 public supporters, will be trying to convince Johnson-backers to come over to her side but Sunak appeared to be the immediate beneficiary.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for colleagues to back Sunak as the candidate with the “most experience” and former Cabinet minister Michael Gove said the Tories must “unite behind” Sunak.
But a Mordaunt campaign source said they were “very close” to the target and “confident” they would hit it.
A spokeswoman added: “Penny is speaking to colleagues from across the party. She’s getting the numbers and she’s in it to win it.”
Conservative MP Damian Green told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re confident of getting to 100 before the deadline of 2pm and putting the case to colleagues that Penny is the person best positioned to unify the party, she’s got support from all wings of the party already and we can then get on with the important job for the country of the various serious problems we’re facing.”
Victory for either Sunak or Mordaunt will mean the Tories are on to their third prime minister since they won the 2019 general election under Johnson’s leadership.
Veteran Tory Christopher Chope joined Labour in demanding a fresh general election, arguing it is the only solution for the next leader now the Conservative Party is “ungovernable”.
The MP told Today: “The best way they can get that respect is by winning a mandate with the people, and that’s why I think a general election is essentially the only answer, otherwise we’re just going to go from bad to worse.
“The party is ungovernable in the House of Commons and so we’re going to have continuing rebellions as we try to change policies and so on, and so I must say I’m very pessimistic, I’m very angry, and I feel that Boris has been let down once again and undermined by our parliamentary colleagues.”
If Mordaunt does win enough support to make the next stage, MPs will decide which of the two candidates they prefer in an “indicative” vote.
There will then be a final online poll of party members to decide the outcome, with the result due on Friday – unless one of the candidates pulls out.
Mordaunt could find herself under pressure to withdraw if she finishes a long way behind Sunak in the poll of MPs – should it go to a vote, even though she is popular with the Tory grassroots.
At the same time, however, many activists – many of whom loathe Sunak for his role in bringing down Johnson – will be furious if they are denied a say in the contest.
In a statement yesterday evening, Johnson said he had been “overwhelmed” by the support he had received from people urging him to run just weeks after being forced out by his own MPs after one scandal too many.
If he had stood, he said there was a “very good chance” the members would have voted him back into No 10 by the end of week and that he would have been “well-placed” to lead the party to victory in a general election in 2024.
However, he said he had come to the conclusion that “this would simply not be the right thing to do”.
“You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament,” he said.
“And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny – because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this.
“I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”
Some MPs were sceptical of his claim to have secured the 100 nominations needed to go forward, with the number of public declarations of support falling far short of that.
Some at Westminster suspected that he chose to withdraw rather than face the humiliation of having to admit he could not get the numbers.
I just give up. The length of this State’s existence should be measured in scandals, not the Gregorian Calendar. It is never ending.
How careless and convenient.
What will it take for FF to bring FG down?
They don’t realise that FG new leader could be popular enough ( I don’t understand how with both ministers records of record homeless & hospital lists)to gain a few more seats leaving FF second fiddle again. Unless FF get a decent increase in min wage & social welfare than last year’s insulting pittance in the budget there be no gains for them whilst God forbid FG could be around for a second “supply & confidence” deal
@abcyz: You argue about these parties as if there is a difference between them. There isn’t, their granddads were on opposite sides of a civil war and that’s about it. Both are centre-right and both are beholden to corporate stoogery.
I wish we had a genuine alternative in this country, but we don’t. As a centrist I’d be happy to skew left if it meant a change a paradigm but, as an example, the AAA lunatics advise me we need a revolution, not an election. How can you argue with that nonsense, or remotely support it? Travesty all round.
@John Considine: Who will be properly fairer? Who will build social housing? Will will increase the recover as much as poss the slashed social welfare to the disabled? Who will give more than 10c increase to the min wage? These are the ordinary citizens concerns but Apples etc seems more important. Why??????
Is the retention of documents not normally 7 years? These reports are 20 and 22 years old. I’m not really surprised they’re gone at this stage, how long can you expect to keep a report?
@Y U no spell good?: No it’s not. A report is meant to be kept for ever. The 7 years you mention refers to the length of time raw research data such as completed questionnaires are usually retained by universities. Reports written on the basis of such data should never go missing or be destroyed. So, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Maybe Leo’s first act as taoiseach will be to educate yfg bots.
@Anne Marie Devlin: Well all accounting and compliancy documents are only held for 7 years also so it’s an understandable question.
@Cian O Donoghue: I agree and many have the view that as soon as a document expires it is removed permanently
@Anne Marie Devlin: thanks for your wonderful help Anne Marie, you seem like a great person. I think my asking a question was an indication that I didn’t know the details and didn’t require you pointing it out as nicely as you did
So many people think they are out of range with the possible of having government corruption or poverty ( due to the way banks treat people) inflicted on them, needs to think again! Im sure the rescue helicopter crew flight 116 never though their lives would be lost due to ducking cut backs, something both of these guy’s will continue!
@collette Kearns,no point using rescue 116 to try and further your point.Cutbacks didn’t cause that tragedy.
@Teddy: was the cover that 116 was providing not supposed to be an air corp fixed wing role? Would have been a casa only that such flights had to be cutback?
Aircorps only have an inter service agreement to provide cover when they can. They are not required to provide cover. on the night in question, they couldn’t, so CG did what they’ve always done when the AC didn’t have anything available, they provided top cover to themselves with a second heli. In reality, the CG should be properly funded and have is own fixed wing aircraft. The AC are supposed to be military and surveillance assets, not rescue.
If the reports had positive results for the air corps I bet they wouldn’t be lost
@Liam Burke: Reports were ordered shredded by Air Corps Health & Safety when an NDT technician turned yellow.
The issue here is a systematic failure by the military authorities to address the Health and Safety issues affecting Aer Corps technicians over many years. Now, quite typically the authorities are moving to protect the system at all costs. Similar incidents of the destruction or loss of documents regarding for instance medical negligence cases are common place once legal action is initiated. The time limit for the retention of documents for 5-7 yrs applies to many types of documents, however it is not uncommon for such unique reports as the air quality report to be held indefinitely as a reference document or as part of an ongoing safety file. This country needs to lose its adversarial approach to this issues where in effect the state has damaged its employees health in breach of SHAWAWA.
@Robbie Masterson: @Robbie Masterson: There was a further serious failure by the Military Medical Corps who didn’t spot that 3 serving personnel in the same very small Avionics / ERF building suffered Hodgkins & Non Hodgkins Lymphoma at the same time with 2 deaths. Also 2 heart attacks of 2 men in their 20s from the same Apprentice class in the same small building as the Hodgkins issue with 1 death. Also a death from a brain tumour and Crohns of men in their 30s in same small building.
This all within 5 years of a report commissioned by a still serving and now Lt. Col that discovered Dichloromethane in the same building at 175ppm when legal limit is 50ppm.
The missing Carbon Monoxide report is also significant as Dichloromethane turns to CO in the bloodstream but can cause Carbon Monoxide poisoning if high ambient CO is also present. Dichloromethane was also used in hangars as a paint stripper, was banned in 2012 but Air Corps still had some in 2016. With jet blast exhausting towards same hangars it was a recipe for serious illness.
This is the part of the building that killed people l. Note photos was taken in 2007
http://www.accas.info/?page_id=142
Green area is where the building was located, note its size compated to cars parked in the vicinity. http://www.loc8code.com/NS4-04-YP7 Viewing the same location in Google Earth history will allow you to see the actual before it was demolished in 2008 The building is also about 8m downwind from the 3m high exhaust stack of the spray painting facility which sent Isocyanate fumes in the doors and windows of Avionics / ERF.
Building was demolished when former personnel started to request their medical files.
Paddywhackery explained through greasy lips
How convenient. I find it very hard to believe that there are absolutely no copies of this report in existence! Someone is attempting to cover arse here! It stinks!
@Edmond Mc Grath: CLARIFICATION The Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the Irish Army Air Corps are saying they cannot locate THEIR copies of the documents.
Previously they denied even the existence of the documents.
I hate this state for what they have done to people over the years. But this is not something that can be blamed on the state. Their is thousands of airmen and women working in far worse conditions around the world and there fine. This is just a way for a small group of people to blame someone for what is actually happening every day in jobs all over the world. There’s 3 girls in the past 4 years in an office I worked in that had cancer. It’s just life.
@Rockhopper617: Research before you mouth off. 1989 Health & Safety legislation was ignored by Air Corps and won’t be fully implemented until December 2017. Multiple reports commissioned by Air Corps showed air quality exceeded legal limits but were ignored. Staff were not given any training in chemical handling nor given or trained in PPE. 20 adults dead, 5 children dead and an autism cluster as a result and approximately 60 with life changing illness. http://www.accas.info
@Chemical Brothers: Regardless of what you decide to do in life you ca
@Rockhopper617: can’t blame others for what happens naturally in life.
@Chemical Brothers:
The 1989 SHWAA was repealed by 2005 act and is no longer applicable. Chemical agent regulations 2015 (most recent version) allow a 2 year introductory period for the changing of packaging and labelling to GHS standard, so aren’t enforceable until next month. As for your reference to “autism clusters”, unless you have discovered a “cause” of autism, something which has eluded many great scientific minds for decades you have zero proof for your “autism cluster” claim.
I have no doubt that Are Corps personnel were exposed to levels far in excess of OEL’ s permitted and that those exposed were subject to Ill health as a result. However if you’re going to have a pop at someone for not doing their research you should reference the correct legislation and regulations. Also if you’re making claims of ill health you should refer to the percentage of those illnesses in the broader population (e.g. 25-30% ratio of cancer in the general population and increasing) and avoid using terms like “autism clusters” .
Reports say the toxicitie is flowing from the govt jet, any reporter commenters any clue as. To
What it my be??
Apologies for stating the obvious and i feel a great sense of anger for the people concerned. But surely copies of said reports should have been help by the people reporting this very serious issue.
@Eddie Byrne: Reports were commissioned by Engineering and Health & Safety officers. Results were not shared with enlisted personnel working with the chemicals and were ordered destroyed by same officers.
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