Trade minister Penny Mordaunt has hit back at criticism of her credentials to become the next prime minister, suggesting rivals are attempting to prevent her getting to the final two since they do “not want to run against” her in the race for Conservative grassroots members’ votes.
Mordaunt’s words came as former Brexit minister Lord Frost criticised her for failing to “master detail”, while her level of experience has been questioned by former Tory chief, Iain Duncan-Smith.
Both men are backers of foreign secretary, Liz Truss, in the Conservative leadership race. Truss polled in third in the first two votes among Tory MPs, behind leader Rishi Sunak and Mordaunt in second.
Lord Frost, who worked on the Brexit negotiations with the EU alongside Mordaunt, said that she “did not master the detail that was necessary” and had been “absent on parade” when he worked with her.
Sir Iain separately said on LBC that the Tory party couldn’t “just elect somebody because for a short period of time they may look better than others.”
Elsewhere, backbencher Julian Knight, another supporter of the Truss campaign, said that an “accidental prime minister” is not what was needed.
Mordaunt has also faced criticism from opposing quarters for her comments on trans rights made during her time as equalities minister, as tensions rise in the race for Number 10.
But speaking to Sky News about criticism of her, Mordaunt suggested that she had “just been getting on with the job” of being a minister prior to Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister and therefore did not have a “profile” in the public eye.
She said: “People are obviously trying to stop me getting into the final because they don't want to run against me.”
"Understandably, people having seen my polling and having seen how I would fare against them in the final round of this contest, it's understandable how they're trying to stop me.
"Anyone going for this job needs to be tested and scrutinised."
Mordaunt added that her campaign would “not be engaging in any” mudslinging against other candidates as she bids to capitalise on her early momentum and strong polling among the party membership.
Five candidates remain in the contest, with three TV debates to take place between Friday evening and the resuming of the voting on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Kemi Badenoch campaign has stated that its candidate has “no intention of stepping down” from the race and is “in it to win”, after Lord Frost called on her to withdraw and support Truss’ bid “in return for a serious job” in the cabinet. Badenoch polled in fourth in the second round of voting, behind Truss.
The final two candidates will be decided by next Thursday (July 21), after which voting will be extended to the 160,000 or so grassroots members of the Conservative party, who will decide the winner.
Boris Johnson’s successor will then be announced on September 5.
Photo by UK Government on Wikimedia Commons
