Penny Mordaunt becomes first MP to declare candidacy to become next Prime Minister

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Penny Mordaunt has become the first candidate to throw her hat into the ring in the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister, with a pledge to re-unite the bitterly divided Tory Party.

The Leader of the House – who finished third in the last leadership election – said she had been encouraged by the support she had received from fellow Conservative MPs.“I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” she said in a statement posted on social media.A candidate to be next Tory leader must secure the support of 100 Tory MPs by 2pm on Monday.

A maximum of three MPs would be able to meet this threshhold.- If only one candidate receives this level of backing, he or she will become Tory leader and the next PM.- If all three candidates make the cut, a vote of MPs will take place between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday, with the person in third place dropping out.- If two candidates are left in the race, there will be an indicative vote of all Tory MPs between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Monday to show who is the most popular candidate among members of parliament.- If the second placed candidate stays in the race after the indicative vote, 180,000 party members will vote online on Friday October 28th, with the result announced on the same day. “I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister – to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next GE (general election).” The announcement came after she held talks with Jeremy Hunt, in which she assured him he could stay on as Chancellor if she won.Sources close to Mordaunt said she had made clear that she would proceed with his budget plan to get the public finances back on