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Tory leadership hopefuls are courting lawmakers while building grassroots support as they race to replace Rishi Sunak after the election, party officials and members said.
Several senior Conservatives have stepped up their operations as Sunak’s party rushes towards what opinion polls predict will derail the July 4 election.
Potential contenders put forward by MPs include former Home Secretary Suela Braverman, Business Minister Kemi Badenoch and Home Secretary James Cleverly.
One party official said, “Shadow boxing has begun.” The person added that prospective leaders are already “visiting other seats, helping lawmakers where possible, making sure they are visible and visible at the grassroots” and stepping up their social media presence.
Party officials expect Sunak to give up the leadership in the event of a predicted Labor landslide, and the fight to succeed him will help shape British politics for years to come as the Conservative Party decides whether to move to the right. .
Potential Tory leadership contender
Some leadership hopefuls have already appointed key aides and have begun reaching out to fellow lawmakers in safe seats (who are more likely to remain in Congress) to test their support.
“I have taken several approaches directly,” one minister said, adding, “There are varying degrees of clarity, but they are all stuck in the prism of ‘we will lose, let’s discuss what to do after polling day’.” ‘.”
The Tory leadership is usually decided by members of parliament, who choose the final two candidates, and members of the party who lean to the right, and decide the final winner.
Party officials said potential candidates were stepping up contact with both groups as the Conservatives’ public messaging has become increasingly pessimistic over the past 10 days.
Conservative party spokespeople are now focusing their efforts on demanding that Labor not be given the so-called “blank check” of a majority.
Mobility has not yet gone into “crazy” overdrive, with fully staffed campaign teams and donors funding individual candidates, Tory officials have warned.
The rules and schedule for the next leadership contest have also not yet been determined.
“It’s very difficult to call everyone,” said one former minister. “We don’t know how big the parliamentary party will be or who will be included in it,” he said. “But the race to shape the Conservative Party at all levels has already begun.”
Among those expected to run are centrist figures from the party’s right, including former Home Secretary Priti Patel, House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.
However, some potential aspirants will no longer be able to stand if they lose their seats in the general election.
The constituencies of Mordant and Shapps have gone from safe seats to a battlefield on the edge of a knife. Their potential removal could clear the way for lesser-known moderates such as Health Minister Victoria Atkins, who colleagues expect to stand up for.
With Conservative attendance widely expected to fall significantly in the July polls, party officials admitted they were not sure whether the One Nation moderates or the right would emerge as the dominant force.
Over the weekend, polling group Survation predicted that the number of Tory MPs after the election would fall to 72 from 317 in 2019.
Some people believe that the next leader of the party could be someone who does not stand as a Tory candidate in the election.
British reform leader Nigel Farage has proposed a “reverse takeover” bid for the Conservative Party.
A small group of right-wing incumbent Tory MPs have privately said they would welcome such a move if Farage’s bid to win the Clacton constituency were successful.
But few believe he will immediately seek leadership once he enters parliament. Farage said this week that joining the Conservatives was “not on my agenda”.
Another possibility suggested by Conservative Party officials is that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the architect of the Conservative Party’s 2019 victory, could return through a by-election.
It is not yet clear how long the leadership contest will take or whether Sunak will agree to remain head of the party during the process.
Several Tory candidates have said Oliver Dowden, currently deputy prime minister, would be a good choice as interim leader.
Sunak said last week he would remain an MP for the next five-year parliamentary term regardless of the election result. But some of his fellow conservatives are skeptical.
“Rishi will cut and run. “He will be shocked if he is in parliament by Christmas,” predicted one Tory insider.
Conservatives close to Sunak claim he is “excited” but the Tory camp admits there is little time left.
Mail-in ballots are already being submitted, and there are only a few key campaign moments left to schedule. question time There will be a special debate with four party leaders on Thursday, followed by a second debate between Sunak and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer next Wednesday.
“I feel depressed and defeated,” said one Conservative candidate. “We have to fight it. “Two and a half weeks is a long time in politics,” he said.
