Mordaunt running to replace Truss as Britain's PM
LONDON - British Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt on Friday became the first Conservative MP to say she will run to replace Liz Truss as leader, after being “encouraged by support from colleagues”.
“I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative party and your prime minister - to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next GE (general election),” she said in a tweet.
Ms Mordaunt, 49, has navigated the tenures of the four prime ministers she has served under.
She kept her distance from Boris Johnson’s scandal-ridden time in power and stayed in Cabinet under Theresa May to make her support for Brexit felt.
This is the second time Ms Mordaunt is running for the top job, after just missing out on the final two in the contest to become the leader of the ruling Conservative Party earlier this year. That race saw Ms Truss defeat former finance minister Rishi Sunak.
Bookmakers place Ms Mordaunt third, behind Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson, who are also expected to enter the race to succeed Ms Truss.
Under Ms Truss, Ms Mordaunt was appointed leader of the House of Commons, a role which also by chance gave her a higher profile job as “Lord President of the Privy Council”.
This means she presided over the formal announcement of Queen Elizabeth’s death and the proclamation of the new King Charles.
Largely unknown outside Westminster prior to taking an early opinion poll lead among Conservative Party members earlier this year, some of the public may have first seen Ms Mordaunt on the reality TV show Splash! in 2014, where celebrities learnt to dive. She performed a belly flop.
She joined Ms May’s Cabinet in 2017 as international development minister.
A stint as defence secretary lasted just 85 days, when she was sacked by Mr Johnson, reportedly for backing his rival Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign.
Mr Johnson eventually brought Ms Mordaunt back into government in February 2020.
As leader of the House of Commons, a role charged with setting out the government business, her no-nonsense attitude gained her admirers. - AFP, REUTERS
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