Despite all the talk of clean breaks and fresh starts, Conservative MPs have opted for experience in selecting the final two candidates for their party's leadership.
Both the foreign secretary, Liz Truss and the former chancellor, Rishi Sunak have operated at the top level in Cabinet and run key government departments.
That ought to be a plus but it also means they have records to defend and share responsibility for the Johnson era, which may be more politically challenging.
The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross seems not to hold that against them, arguing that both candidates are "fully up to the task" of taking over as PM.
He has also pledged to work with whoever wins — to reset relations with the occupant of Number 10 after his relationship with Boris Johnson broke down over partygate.
Britain’s new prime minister was announced on 5 September as Liz Truss, after Conservative party members vote on the two candidates chosen by Conservative MPs.
Candidates initially needed the backing of 20 MPs to even stand in the ballot, a threshold that three leadership hopefuls - Sajid Javid, Grant Shapps and Rehman Chishti - failed to achieve. In the first ballot, for which a candidate needed the backing of a minimum of 30 MPs, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated.
Candidates are whittled down by a series of voting rounds in which the last-placed candidate will be knocked out, until just two are left to face the membership.
If one of the two final candidates drops out, the other would become leader without a membership ballot, but candidates have been asked to give assurances they will not do this.
Candidates are whittled down by a series of voting rounds in which the last-placed candidate will be knocked out, until just two are left to face the membership.
If one of the two final candidates drops out, the other would become leader without a membership ballot, but candidates have been asked to give assurances they will not do this.
As Chancellor, Sunak was prominent in the government's economic response to the economic ramifications of the government's decision to impose lockdown to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
In April 2022, he became the first Chancellor in British history to have been sanctioned for breaking the law while in office after being issued a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations during lockdowns.
The ex-Chancellor, long been rumoured to be preparing a leadership bid, wasted no time on Friday in setting out his “Ready for Rishi” campaign.
He said: “Our country faces huge challenges, the most serious for a generation. Someone has to grip this moment and make the right decisions. Because the choices we make today will decide whether the next generation of British people will have more opportunities than the last.
“We need to restore trust in our politics. We need to rebuild our economy. And we need to reunite the country.”
Mr Sunak also warned people not to buy “fairy-tale” promises from opponents of cutting taxes while maintaining high spending.
Eat Out to Help Out - The government subsidised food and soft drinks at participating cafes, pubs and restaurants at 50%, up to £10 per person. The offer was available from 3 to 31 August on Monday to Wednesday each week. In total, the scheme subsidised £849 million in meals.
In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study at the University of Warwick found that the scheme contributed to a rise in COVID-19 infections of between 8% and 17%.
The Office for Budget Responsibility said that the tax burden would reach its highest level since the 1940s.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/01/eat-out-to-help-out-failed-boost-finances-uk-hospitality-industry
Liz Truss
The Foreign Secretary announced her leadership bid in an article for the Daily Telegraph on Monday, posing herself as the taxi-cutting alternative to Mr Sunak.
In a thinly veiled stab at Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak’s economic policy, Ms Truss signalled that she will cut corporation tax, reverse the national insurance hike and overhaul business rates.
“Under my leadership, I would start cutting taxes from day one to take immediate action to help people deal with the cost of living,” she said.
The Cabinet minister also tried to position herself as the candidate best placed to win over both Blue Wall Tory heartlands and Red Wall former Labour seats.
She is one of the favourites in the race, alongside Mr Sunak, but has been slow in setting out her campaign – after Mr Johnson’s resignation caught her by surprise at an international summit.
Jeremy Hunt
The former Health Secretary, whom Mr Johnson beat to the Tory leadership in 2019, is attempting to bill himself as untainted by the Johnson premiership after three years on the backbenches.
In addition to slashing corporation tax for businesses, Mr Hunt has promised to remove business rates for five years in worse-off communities.
“What matters is wealth creation, which means that people don’t feel that they need to leave a Bolton or a Bolsover because they can get better jobs in Manchester or London. They can actually stay there,” Mr Hunt said.
Despite promising giveaways to business, Mr Hunt has ruled out tax cuts for individuals, insisting: “I would say no Conservative should offer unfunded tax cuts.”
Penny Mordaunt
The trade minister, a Brexiter ex-soldier who formerly served as Defence Secretary under Theresa May, joined the race on Sunday morning.
She said: “I don’t believe the Conservative Party needs a new leader as much as it needs a different approach to leadership.
“I believe leadership should be less about the leader and more about the ship. There are loads of good and talented people in the party, but we’ve not made the most of their skills and ideas. They deserve a leader that will unleash that talent.
Sajid Javid
Boris Johnson’s former Health Secretary, whose resignation sparked the Prime Minister’s downfall, is vowing to scrap the controversial national insurance rise, introduced while he was in office to fund the NHS and social care.
In an apparent swipe at Mr Sunak, he said: “I’m not sure I would have done it if I had been Chancellor, but I was focused on my job and I’m not trying to do other people’s jobs for them.”
Mr Javid said he would bring forward a planned 1p income tax cut to next year, slash corporation tax by 1p a year, and introduce a further “significant” temporary reduction on fuel duty.
Nadhim Zahawi
The new Chancellor, who took action to force Mr Johnson out just one day after being promoted by him, has also thrown his hat into the ring for the vacancy.
He said: “My aim is a simple one: to provide the opportunities that were afforded to my generation, to all Britons, whoever you are and wherever you come from.”
Mr Zahawi has pledged to lower taxes for individuals, families and business, boost defence spending, and continue with education reforms that he started in his previous role.
Grant Shapps
The Transport Secretary was also promising tax cuts as he promoted his own bid, indicating he would bring forward the 1p income tax cut to “now” and “freeze” the proposed increase in corporation tax.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I believe in a lower tax, lower regulation, cut the red tape economy, where… the Government essentially actually lowers the barriers for individuals and businesses to achieve the best possible things they can in their own lives.
“And I think the role of the Government is to help with that. But sometimes that means reducing taxes, it means being able to reduce red tape, make it easier to deal with Government, get on with your life, start a business, bring up a family, bring up children.”
Tom Tugendhat
A backbencher who has not served in Government under Boris Johnson, the ex-soldier and chair of the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee has vowed a “clean start” to “restore trust” in politics.
Mr Tugendhat said: “Taxes, bluntly, are too high and there is an emerging consensus across the party that they must come down. We should immediately reverse the recent national insurance hike and let hard-working people, and employers, keep more of their money.
“Fuel tax must come down. And un-Conservative tariffs, that push up prices for consumers, should be dropped.”
Addressing the fact he has never been a minister, Mr Tugendhat says the four years he spent setting up the national security council in Afghanistan qualifies him.
Suella Braverman
In an unusual step, the Attorney General declared her bid for leader before Mr Johnson had even resigned – daring him to sack her.
Setting out her belief in an “efficient, low-tax state”, she has vowed to “get government spending under control” and cut VAT on energy.
She also wrote in The Sunday Telegraph: “When I was growing up, the symbol of our party was the torch of liberty. Argument is always better than censorship. Let’s not go down the identity politics rabbit hole. Single-sex spaces are perfectly normal, especially in schools.”
Kemi Badenoch
The former equalities minister, one of the dozens to quit Government ahead of Mr Johnson’s departure, has angled her outsider bid on “culture war” issues.
Ms Badenoch, who has made controversial comments about colonialism and race issues in the past, claimed in the Sunday Times: “Exemplified by coercive control, the imposition of views, the shutting down of debate, the end of due process, identity politics is not about tolerance or individual rights but the very opposite of our crucial and enduring British values.”
She wrote: “Rather than legislate for hurt feelings as we risk doing with the Online Safety Bill, we must strengthen our democratic culture at a time when democratic values are under assault from without and within.
“We need to reinvigorate the case for free speech, free markets and the institutions that defend a free people because our values and our ideas are too precious not to fight for with all our heart.”
Rehman Chishti
The MP for Gillingham and Rainham, who has never served as a minister or had a high-profile role in Parliament, surprised many by throwing his hat in the ring on Sunday.
In a marked contrast with Mr Sunak’s slick campaign video, Mr Chishti posted a pared-back address to camera on his Facebook page promising to offer a “fresh start”.
He played on his position as a wildcard in the leadership race, suggesting that his outsider status would provide the clean slate that Britain needs.
“For me it’s about aspirational conservatism, fresh ideas, fresh team for a fresh start taking our great country forward,” he said.
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