At least 10 more MPs publicly declared for the ex-Chancellor in the morning.
The new backings put his public support above 50, and greater than that for Mr Johnson – however at lunchtime Defence Secretary Ben Wallace ruled himself out of running and said he was ‘leaning toward’ support of his former boss, although he did have reservations.
Even once whips and other party figures, who have to remain publicly neutral, are included, Mr Sunak was believed to be narrowly ahead of the former Prime Minister.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt was trailing Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson by a significant margin.
Writing on Twitter shortly before 11.30am, former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, said: “I believe @RishiSunak is the best person to take the Conservative party and, most importantly, the country forward. He has the talent, integrity, and humility necessary to provide us with a fresh start and a steady hand. I am proud to support him.”
Former Cabinet minister Liam Fox also announced his backing for Mr Sunak, saying his “economic judgement, energy and optimism” are what our party and our country need to secure a better future.”
No candidate has formally declared a bid to enter the contest to be the next Tory leader, and PM, but early momentum is often crucial to win over wavering MPs.
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Cost of Government borrowing goes up
George Eustice announces support for Rishi Sunak
Conservative MP George Eustice said he will backing Rishi Sunak to become the next Conservative Party leader.
The former Environment Secretary said: “I’m going to be backing Rishi Sunak in this contest.
“I think in the leadership campaign over the summer, he won in all of the exchanges that took place in hustings.
“As far as I can see, he had the biggest base of support within the parliamentary party, and we really need someone now who can unite the party, pull it together, but crucially, who’s got the judgment to be a good Prime Minister to get those key decisions right, so that we can deal with some of the great challenges that the world faces.”
New PM to decide on Jeremy Hunt’s fiscal plan
The new Prime Minister will have to decide whether to go ahead with the planned Halloween statement setting out how the Government intends to get the public finances back on track, Downing Street has said.
Work is continuing in Whitehall, led by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, in preparation for the medium-term fiscal plan to be announced on October 31 along with an updated set of economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
However, a No 10 spokeswoman said it would be up to Liz Truss’s successor to decide whether to proceed with that approach and with the same timetable.
“Major fiscal decisions will be for the next prime minister,” the spokeswoman said.
“Work is ongoing in preparation for the medium-term fiscal plan. That is obviously led by the Chancellor working with the PM in the usual way.
“We are working in preparation for the 31st but obviously the decision on proceeding with that and with that timetable would be for the new prime minister.”
Pound falls amid political uncertainty and weak economic data
The pound has slid to its lowest level this week as downbeat economic data and the prospect of political uncertainty increased nervousness in the financial markets.
Sterling fell by 1.16% to 1.110 against the US dollar on Friday morning. The pound was also down 0.64% at 1.14 against the euro.
The poor performance by the pound has been partly caused by weaker-than-expected economic data.
Earlier on Friday, official figures showed that Government borrowing struck £20 billion last month, more than £2 billion more than economists had expected – an increase driven by higher debt interest due to rising inflation.
Questions over whether Liz Truss gets a resignation honours list
There is growing clamour to stop outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss from making a resignation honours list.
Most departing Prime Ministers get to nominate people to the House of Lords and for other honours when they leave office. But as Truss only lasted a few weeks, she may not be allowed.
Liz Truss delivering her resignation speech outside No 10 on Thursday
/ PA WireNo10 this morning said it had “no confirmation” either way whether Truss would be granted permission to make one after spending just over a month in Downing Street.
Clamour online to deny Truss a list is growing, with former Tony Blair aide Alastair Campbell tweeting: “Neither she nor Johnson should be allowed a resignation honours list. They have no honour. They have disgraced and debased an office they should never have held.”
Read the full story here.
Defence Secretary ‘leaning towards’ backing Boris
Ben Wallace said he is “leaning towards” Boris Johnson as his choice to replace Liz Truss in Downing Street – adding weighty support to Mr Johnson’s potential cadidacy.
Ruling himself out of the contest, the Defence Secretary pointed to Mr Johnson’s record on defence spending and cited the mandate the former prime minister won in 2019.
Ben Wallace and Boris Johnson
/ PAMr Wallace argued that without national security, there is “no economic security,” and said he believes it is “important” that whoever puts themselves forward for the top job indicates that.
But he said he also has to “recognise the issue of the mandate”.
“This will be potentially our third prime minister since the general election of 2019, that means we have to think about that legitimacy question that the public will be asking themselves, and also about who could win the next election – that’s obviously important for any political party at the time,” he told broadcasters.
“So at the moment, I would lean towards Boris Johnson. I think he will still have some questions to answer around, obviously, that investigation, but I know when I was Secretary of State for Defence, he invested in defence, he supported me, he supported the actions this country has taken to keep us safe.”
Johnson returning to No10 would be ‘catastrophic’, says Tory minister
Selecting Boris Johnson as Tory leader would be “absolutely catastrophic”, Foreign Office minister Jesse Norman has said.
The Tory MP tweeted: “There are several very good potential candidates for Conservative leader. But choosing Boris now would be — and I say this advisedly — an absolutely catastrophic decision.”
BREAKING: Ben Wallace rules himself out of race, ‘leans towards’ Boris
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says he will not be entering the leadership race – and would instead currently “lean towards Boris Johnson” as a candidate.
Mr Wallace said the Conservative Party must consider “who could win the next election” when selecting a leader.
Rishi moves into early lead against Boris in race to be next PM
More MPs have declared they back Rishi Sunak in the race to be Britain’s next Prime Minister – putting his public support above 50, and greater than that for Boris Johnson.
Even once whips and other party figures, who have to remain publicly neutral, are included, Mr Sunak is believed to be narrowly ahead of the former Prime Minister.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt is trailing Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson by a significant margin.
Among 10 more MPs who announced their support for Mr Sunak this morning are former Chief Whip Gavin Williamson, former Cabinet minister Liam Fox, Poole MP Sir Roberts Syms and Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes.
Mr Williamson wrote on Twitter: “I believe @RishiSunak is the best person to take the Conservative party and, most importantly, the country forward. He has the talent, integrity, and humility necessary to provide us with a fresh start and a steady hand. I am proud to support him.”
Dr Fox, MP for North Somerset, said he is supporting Mr Sunak as his “economic judgement, energy and optimism are what our party and our country need to secure a better future.”
No candidate has yet formally declared a bid to enter the contest to become the next Tory leader, and PM, but early momentum is often crucial to win over MPs who are on the fence.
Labour MP resigns over ‘serious sexual misconduct’
In breaking news from outside the Tory leadership race, a Labour MP has resigned after Westminster’s Independent Expert Panel recommended he should be suspended for “serious sexual misconduct”.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards upheld two allegations of sexual misconduct against Christian Matheson by a former member of his staff.
Mr Matheson, who was elected in 2015, denies serious sexual misconduct but has today resigned as MP for the City of Chester, after the Labour party stripped him of the whip and asked him to step down following the commissioner’s conclusion.
Read the full story here.
