Succession to Boris Johnson: there are now 11 candidates in the running

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arriving ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, London on July 5, 2022.

Diplomacy Chief Liz Truss launched Sunday evening in the race to succeed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a campaign marked by the debate on tax policy and which promises to be particularly bitter.

I will fight in this election as a Tory and govern as a Tory, said Liz Truss, 46, announcing a no doubt candidacy in the Daily Telegraph columns.

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She joins several heavyweights of the Conservative Party in a race that has a total of 11 competitors.

Secretary of State for International Trade Penny Mordaunt, 49, meanwhile got started on Sunday morning.

This former Navy reservist, who was the first woman to hold the post of Minister of Defense in 2019, insisted on the need for the public debate to revolve a little less around the leader, to focus on the ship. /p>

A clear desire to get out of the endless succession of scandals that have marred Boris Johnson's term of office, until he was left with no problems. other choice than to resign on Thursday, after an avalanche of departures in his government.

Very open, the competition for the head of the Conservative Party – and therefore for Downing Street, the Tories being the majority in the House of Commons – bodes well for an electric summer, with its share of revelations and stink bombs.

Sajid Javid, as he leaves his London home

On Saturday evening, former ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid in turn announced their candidacies in the columns of the conservative newspaper Sunday Telegraph.

Sajid Javid insisted on his plan to reduce taxes, distancing himself from the line of Rishi Sunak, who is among the favorites and wants to wait for a consolidation of public finances before considering embarking on such a path, in a Kingdom UK plagued by inflation not seen in 40 years.

Without tax cuts we will not have growth, said Sajid Javid on the BBC on Sunday, who announced his resignation from the government on Tuesday started the haemorrhage – around 60 departures in all – which proved fatal to Boris Johnson.

Sajid Javid, 52, was trailed nine minutes later by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, but he assured that they did not consult each other.

Very popular for the multiple support measures deployed at the height of the pandemic, Rishi Sunak, 42, found himself weakened for a time by the revelation of his wealthy wife's recourse to an advantageous tax system. First heavyweight to have launched, he risks suffering the wrath of Camp Johnson who accuses him of treason.

Former UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.

Another strong contender, Nadhim Zahawi: As Secretary of State, he spearheaded Britain's COVID-19 vaccine programme, before spending the last week from the Ministry of x27;Education to that of Finance.

He sees his start to the campaign weighed down by the revelation in the press of a tax investigation. I am clearly being smeared, he hit back on Sky News, saying he was unaware of this investigation and had always paid and declared his taxes in the UK. /p>

The other competitors, whose chances of success appear much lower, are Transport Minister Grant Shapps, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat, as well as the Attorney General – in charge of legal advice to the government – ​​Suella Braverman, and the #x27;ex-Secretary of State for Equality Kemi Badenoch.

Last to arrive in the race, MP Rehman Chishti, virtually unknown to the general public.

All in all, the party authorities are anticipating about fifteen applications, an influx which suggests an increase in the thresholds in terms of sponsorships or number of votes in the first part of the process.

But Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the Comité 1922, responsible for the internal organization of the party, expressed confidence on Sunday on LBC radio that the two finalists will be known by July 20.

The more precise timetable is expected on Monday, for a possible closing of applications on Tuesday, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

The objective mentioned is to ensure that the final vote, open only to members of the conservative party, allows to choose the winner by the beginning of September.