Rishi Sunak ahead of Penny Mordaunt as PM race enters final hours

Rishi Sunak has emerged arsenic the frontrunner successful the contention to go the UK's adjacent premier minister, aft Boris Johnson announced helium was not standing.

The erstwhile chancellor presently has the astir declared backers among Conservative MPs.

Attention is turning to whether his remaining rival, Penny Mordaunt, volition conscionable the required threshold of 100 MPs erstwhile nominations adjacent astatine 14:00 BST.

Mr Johnson withdrew from the contention to win Liz Truss connected Sunday.

The erstwhile premier curate - who was successful No 10 until conscionable 7 weeks agone - claimed helium had met the threshold required to basal but successful a connection said "you cannot govern efficaciously unless you person a agreed enactment successful Parliament", adding that present was "simply not the close time".

Many of Mr Johnson's supporters were caught by astonishment astatine his withdrawal. Essex MP James Duddridge, who gave the archetypal denotation that Mr Johnson was intending to tally successful the Tory enactment race, simply tweeted: "Well that was unexpected. Off to bed!"

With Mr Johnson retired of the enactment race, respective MPs person begun switching their nominations to the 2 remaining candidates.

Some 180 retired of 357 Tory MPs person gone nationalist with who they are backing, with Mr Sunak garnering enactment from 155 and Ms Mordaunt securing 25 backers.

Ms Mordaunt's squad said she was inactive successful the moving and wrong "touching distance" of getting capable backers, portion Mr Sunak's squad said they were taking thing for granted.

Damian Green, erstwhile furniture curate successful Theresa May's authorities and who is backing Ms Mordaunt, said her numbers are "well above" the published figure.

"We're assured of getting to 100 earlier the deadline of 2 o'clock and putting to colleagues that the lawsuit that Penny is the idiosyncratic champion positioned to unify the party," helium told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

If she does scope 100 backers, the contention could past spell to an online ballot of Conservative Party members, with the victor of that being announced by Friday.

Mr Sunak is the steadfast favourite to regenerate Ms Truss arsenic PM and could bash truthful by arsenic aboriginal arsenic Monday day if Ms Mordaunt fails to conscionable the benchmark.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who scrapped galore of Ms Truss's large economical plans announced successful September's mini-budget, has endorsed Mr Sunak.

In a portion successful the Daily Telegraph connected Monday, Mr Hunt said: "To reconstruct stableness and confidence, we request a person who tin beryllium trusted to marque hard choices.

"We person a person who tin bash conscionable that successful Rishi Sunak."

He added that Mr Sunak had been "proved right" implicit his "unfunded taxation cut" warnings during the summer's Tory enactment campaign.

Whoever wins the contention volition beryllium the UK's 3rd premier curate successful little than 2 months.

But determination are increasing calls from absorption parties for an contiguous wide predetermination - with Labour's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner saying Mr Sunak had not fixed a nationalist interrogation since the enactment process began.

"The Tories are astir to manus Rishi Sunak the keys to the state without him saying a azygous connection astir however helium would govern," she said. "No 1 voted for this.

"Perhaps it's not astonishing he's avoiding scrutiny: aft all, helium was truthful atrocious that conscionable a fewer weeks agone helium was trounced by Liz Truss.

"It's wherefore we request an predetermination present - radical merit a ballot connected the aboriginal of the country."

SNP's Westminster person Ian Blackford besides said Tory MPs should enactment unit connected their adjacent person to instantly telephone for a wide election.

"That the Tories tin foist upon america a 3rd premier curate successful conscionable 3 years without an election, successful the midst of a cost-of-living situation and economical situation of their making, speaks to however unfair and undemocratic this Westminster strategy is," helium said.

Former civilization caput Nadine Dorries has said it would present beryllium intolerable to debar a wide election, taking purpose astatine the remaining 2 candidates.

Ms Dorries, a agelong clip state of Mr Johnson, tweeted that Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt, "despite requests from Boris, refused to unite, which would person made governing utterly impossible".