Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have reportedly held talks late into the night time – fuelling hypothesis they may strike a deal.
Neither the previous prime minister nor the ex-chancellor have formally declared themselves within the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister.
Race to be PM heats up – observe the newest updates
To be included on the poll paper, management candidates want help from at the least 100 Conservative MPs.
Public endorsements imply Mr Sunak has surpassed this threshold – with 121 backers – and Mr Johnson’s allies declare he has the numbers required to run too.
However, the newest Sky News tally suggests simply 56 MPs have confirmed they’d help Mr Johnson’s marketing campaign to be prime minister for the second time.
One of Mr Sunak’s supporters – Richard Holden – rejected claims that Mr Johnson had 100 MPs behind him, and stated this variety of public endorsements had not been made “because they don’t exist”.
The solely one who has thrown their hat into the ring, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, has acquired endorsements from 23 of her friends.
The present contest has been expedited following Liz Truss’s resignation as prime minister, and nominations for the poll paper are attributable to shut at 2pm tomorrow afternoon.
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Reports recommend Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak’s talks centered on a possible joint ticket.
It comes after the previous PM jetted again to the UK from his vacation within the Dominican Republic in economic system class – with some fellow passengers booing him as he boarded.
If all three candidates have been to obtain 100 backers, there can be a vote by MPs – with the profitable two put ahead to the get together membership.
A vote would then happen, that means the brand new chief can be chosen by Friday.
In a major second for Team Sunak, Kemi Badenoch threw her help behind the previous chancellor after a string of massive names had flocked to Mr Johnson.
While she admitted that she had been a member of “the Boris Johnson fan club”, she warned the Tories are usually not “organising a popularity contest” – and the get together is “not a vehicle for any one individual’s personal ambitions”.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Ms Badenoch stated of her determination to endorse Mr Sunak: “Like any work colleagues, we had our disagreements, which I elaborated on when we were competitors in the same contest.
“Now it’s crucial that I let individuals know the selections he made that I knew have been completely proper.”
She also spoke of his attention to inflation and reining in of “pointless, wasteful spending”.
Meanwhile, former foreign secretary Dominic Raab said it is “troublesome to see” how Mr Johnson could become prime minister again when he is “absorbed and distracted” by the issues surrounding partygate.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Raab said he was “assured” Mr Sunak would run in the Tory leadership race and was the “standout candidate” among the many discipline.
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Source: information.sky.com”