Rishi Sunak takes the lead, but Penny Mordaunt has the most to celebrate
The trade minister and Brexiteer is second among MPs and polling first among members.
ByRishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak is a member of the Conservative Party who was prime minister between October 2022 and July 2024. Sunak has been MP for Richmond since 2015 and before becoming PM he served as chancellor of the Exchequer from 13 February 2020 to 5 July 2022. Thanks to a Fulbright scholarship, he studied philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and did an MBA at Stanford University. Find all our latest news, comment and analysis of the former prime minister here.
Leader: The great moving right show
Rather than advancing a new vision for the country, the Tory candidates are taking refuge in outdated orthodoxies.
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PMQs today: Starmer takes aim at Sunak
Boris Johnson was a mere bystander as the Labour leader targeted the Tory candidates’ tax affairs.
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Tim Key chronicles the last days of “Bohnson”
The comedian’s satirical poems charting Boris Johnson’s demise are grotesque and oddly poignant.
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Conservative Party members are more pragmatic than you think
Who are the Tory grassroots voters who will choose our next prime minister and what do they really believe?
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Every Conservative leadership campaign video reviewed and ranked
Rishi Sunak has a bedtime story for you from his bunker, and Penny Mordaunt really might be trolling everyone.
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There are only four serious contenders left for the Tory leadership
The real question is who of Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat and Liz Truss will face Rishi Sunak in the final…
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The Tories’ new nightmare
Conservative leadership hopefuls scramble to out-pledge each other. But awaiting the winner is a divided party and deepening economic crisis.
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Why the Tory contest is missing a Rory Stewart
We need a grown-up in the room.
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Why are the Tory leadership candidates not talking about NHS waiting lists?
As Conservative hopefuls bicker over culture wars, the National Health Service is falling apart at the seams.
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How will the Tory leadership contest work?
It’s a race to the bottom to appeal to the tiny, unrepresentative party membership.
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Don’t make the Tory leadership contest about the trans culture war
Women care more about abortion, female employment and violence against us.
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The race to be Britain’s next prime minister has never been so wide open
In a blow to Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch lead in the first survey of Conservative members.
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The Tory leadership candidates are all peddling dangerous delusions
No Conservative will dare admit the searingly obvious: Brexit is proving a catastrophe for Britain.
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How a UK corporation tax rate of 15 per cent would compare globally
The proposal by Tory leadership candidates would leave the UK with the lowest corporate tax rate in the G20.
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A zeal for tax cuts is already defining the Tory leadership race
As more of his rivals launch their campaigns, Rishi Sunak is emerging as a lone voice in favour of recent…
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It’s absurd to say the Conservative Party isn’t ready for a non-white leader
The suggestion that ethnic minority Tories have betrayed their identity is its own form of racism.
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The UK economy cannot afford three months without leadership
This disruption has come at the worst possible time for businesses and consumers.
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Boris Johnson was felled by the biggest mass resignation in history
More than 50 people on the government payroll resigned in protest at the Prime Minister’s handling of the Christopher Pincher…
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Who will replace Boris Johnson as Conservative leader?
By resigning fast while other cabinet ministers cowered, Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak have pushed themselves to the front of…
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