FOUR more Tory hopefuls face elimination TODAY:
FOUR more Tory hopefuls face elimination TODAY: Penny Mordaunt dismisses ‘woke’ gender backlash in campaign launch as Iain Duncan Smith backs Liz Truss and allies target ‘disloyal’ frontrunner Rishi Sunak ahead of crunch ballot
- Rishi Sunak has been endorsed by Boris Johnson ally Steve Barclay as he racks up support from Tory MPs
- Former Chancellor’s team is said to be trying to make victory look ‘inevitable’ with huge number of backers
- Penny Mordaunt has officially launched her campaign promising to restore the Conservatives’ ‘sense of self’
- They are among eight hopefuls who have made the first round of voting today but not all will survive the ballot
- Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries last night accused Team Sunak of the ‘dark arts’ and ‘dirty tricks’ on Twitter
By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 03:57 EDT, 13 July 2022 | UPDATED: 07:00 EDT, 13 July 2022
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Penny Mordaunt officially launched her leadership bid today vowing to restore the Tories’ ‘sense of self’ – but also bizarrely batted away a row over her ‘woke’ gender stance by stating she does not have a penis.
The trade minister gave a slick performance at an event in Westminster, saying she is the ‘candidate that Labour fear’ and adding: ‘They are right to.’
But Ms Mordaunt was also forced to address Tory jibes about her liberal views on trans rights. She quoted Margaret Thatcher’s line that ‘every PM needs a Willie’ – a reference to her deputy Willie Whitelaw – and said: ‘A woman like me doesn’t have one.’
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The comments came as Rishi Sunak added a key Boris Johnson ally to his roll call of backers today, with Tories bracing for more blood letting in the first round of voting.
Of the eight candidates left only Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt have enough declared backers to survive today’s ballot, after party chiefs s
