Rishi Sunak has won the backing of former rival Suella Braverman as he formally declared he would stand to be Conservative leader, while allies of Boris Johnson said he was still planning to run.
The former chancellor announced his candidacy on Twitter, after coming second in the previous contest against Liz Truss.
Sunak tweeted on Sunday: “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That’s why I am standing to be leader of the Conservative party and your next prime minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country.”
Not long after, he won the backing of Braverman, whose departure as home secretary helped trigger the demise of Truss as prime minister. She joined former fellow leadership contender and rightwinger Kemi Badenoch on his slate, as well as Grant Shapps, David Davis and Chloe Smith.
Writing for the Telegraph, Braverman said: “We need to provide leadership, stability and confidence to the British people. We cannot indulge in parochial or nativist fantasies. Yes, I want a leader of our party and our country to inspire hope for a better future and raise our spirits. And I need a leader who will put our house in order and apply a steady, careful hand on the tiller. That person, for me, is Rishi Sunak.”
Sunak has almost 140 public nominations, compared with about 60 for Johnson. However, the former prime minister did win the support of two more cabinet ministers – James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, and Nadhim Zahawi, the Cabinet Office minister, who had called on Johnson to resign four months ago.
In a statement, Cleverly said: “The last few weeks show that being PM is tough and no other job in government is quite like it. I know Boris has learned lessons from his time in No 10 and will ensure the focus is on the needs of the country from day one. I will be supporting him to return to the role of PM.”
Johnson is yet to declare but his close colleague Jacob Rees-Mogg said the former prime minister was “clearly going to stand”.
The business secretary and the former chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris both said Johnson had the numbers behind him to reach the required threshold of 100 MPs, despite scepticism among his critics that the former PM had that level of backing.
Sunak, the MP for Richmond, remains the clear frontrunner. He lost to Truss less than seven weeks ago but her departure announcement on Thursday triggered another race for the premiership.
In a statement, Sunak said his priority would be fixing the economy, describing the crisis facing the UK as “profound”.
“I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times. The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities, if we make the right choice,” he said.
In a reference to the scandals that brought down Johnson, Sunak added: “There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done.
“I am asking you for the opportunity to help fix our problems. To lead our party and country forwards towards the next general election, confident in our record, firm in our convictions and ready to lead again.”
Sunak spent Saturday night in talks with Johnson but these ended apparently without a deal.
Johnson’s publicly declared list of supporters is still about 40 MPs short of the threshold. Many MPs are concerned about the upcoming privileges committee inquiry into whether Johnson misled the Commons over the Partygate scandal.
The former prime minister was also dealt a blow as Steve Baker, a former Truss supporter, minister and influential figure in the European Research Group faction, gave his backing to Sunak and described a comeback by Johnson as a “nailed-on disaster”.
Baker told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I think it would be for the best if Boris did something big and statesmanlike. I mean, if he wants to come back as prime minister, he would need to do it after this privileges issue is settled. I think he’d make an amazing chairman of the party …
“But what we can’t do is have him as prime minister in circumstances where he’s bound to implode, taking down the whole government with him. We just can’t do that again.”
His view was echoed by Robert Jenrick, a former cabinet minister. Speaking to Times Radio, Jenrick said: “I cannot in good faith recommend to my parliamentary colleagues and to members of the party that we go from having the shortest prime minister in political history to the first to be expelled from the House of Commons.”
The third candidate is Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, whose supporter Damian Green warned against a “stitch-up” by big figures in Westminster without a vote going to Tory party members.
Speaking on Sky News, Green said of Johnson: “We saw what happened last time and how the government literally fell apart. We know there’s this investigation going on and as long as that’s going on if [Johnson] became leader there’s the possibility that we could all be here again.”
Mordaunt told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday that she believed she could bring the party together but would not outline any economic plans other than keeping the current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. She denied she had been in touch with Johnson’s camp offering her support in return for a job – and said she was not contemplating backing another candidate.