Nine Conservative MPs are now in the running on Sunday in the United Kingdom to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a campaign marked by the debate on the tax policy to be carried out and which promises to be particularly bitter.
Last to launch on Sunday morning, Secretary of State for International Trade, Penny Mordaunt, 49. This former Navy reservist, who was the first woman to hold the post of Minister of Defense in 2019, insisted on the need for the public debate “to revolve a little less around the leader”, to focus on the “ vessel “.
A clear desire to get out of the endless succession of scandals that have marred Boris Johnson’s mandate, until leaving him no choice but to resign Thursday, after an avalanche of departures in his government.
Very open, the competition for the head of the conservative party – and therefore for Downing Street, the Tories being the majority in the House of Commons – bodes well for an electric summer, with its share of revelations and stink balls.
On Saturday evening, former ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid in turn announced their candidacies in the columns of the conservative Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
Sajid Javid insisted on his plan to reduce taxes, distancing himself from the line of Rishi Sunak, who is among the favorites and wants to wait for a consolidation of public finances before considering embarking on such a path, in a Kingdom United in the grip of an inflation not seen for 40 years.
“Without tax cuts we will not have growth,” said Sajid Javid on the BBC on Sunday, who by announcing his resignation from the government on Tuesday launched the haemorrhage – some sixty departures in all – which turned out to be fatal to Boris Johnson.
Sajid Javid, 52, was followed nine minutes later by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, but he said they did not consult.
Very popular for the multiple economic support measures deployed at the height of the pandemic, Rishi Sunak, 42, found himself weakened for a time by the revelation of his wealthy wife’s recourse to an advantageous tax system. First heavyweight to have launched, it seems to have succeeded in bouncing back and enjoys many support from deputies.
But he risks suffering the wrath of Camp Johnson who suspects him of treason. Rishi Sunak apparently did not notify the Prime Minister before leaving the government.
Finalists known by July 20
Another serious candidate, Nadhim Zahawi: as Secretary of State, he had piloted the British anti-COVID vaccination program, before moving last week from the Ministry of Education to that of Finance.
He sees his start to the campaign weighed down by the revelation in the press of a tax investigation targeting him. “I’m clearly being smeared,” he hit back on Sky News, saying he was unaware of the investigation and had “always” paid and filed his UK taxes.
He assured that in the event of an election, he would make his income public each year.
The other competitors, whose chances of success appear much lower, are the Minister for Transport, Grant Shapps, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, as well as the Attorney General – responsible for advising the government legally – Suella Braverman, and former Secretary of State for Equality Kemi Badenoch.
The party is still awaiting the entry into the race of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, whose intentions are not in doubt, while another favourite, her Defense colleague Ben Wallace, announced on Saturday that he was giving up.
In total, the authorities of the party anticipate about fifteen candidacies, an influx which suggests an increase in the thresholds in terms of sponsorships or number of votes in the first part of the process.
But Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee, responsible for the internal organization of the party, said he was “confident” on Sunday on LBC radio that the two finalists will be known by July 20.
The more precise timetable is expected on Monday, for a possible closing of applications on Tuesday, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The objective mentioned is to ensure that the final vote, open only to members of the Conservative Party, makes it possible to designate the winner by the beginning of September.