Rishi Sunak has entered the Tory leadership race vowing to “restore trust” after Boris Johnson’s multiple scandals, but with a warning that the country cannot afford early tax cuts.
The former chancellor – the favourite with the public – also hinted that he would end the “culture wars” the current prime minister has relished fighting, promising: “We’ve had enough of division.”
Stealing a march on his rivals, with Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt and Ben Wallace expected to launch their campaigns this weekend, Mr Sunak cast himself as the fiscally responsible candidate, resisting the clamour for tax cuts.
Mr Sunak also launched a website, ready4rishi.com, which – as The Independent exclusively revealed in January – set hares running at No 10 when it first appeared in September 2020. At the time sources close to Mr Sunak described the claims, along with those relating to the chancellor having prepared a leadership campaign, as “totally false”.
“Do we confront this moment with honesty, seriousness and determination, or do we tell ourselves comforting fairytales that might make us feel better in the moment but will leave our children worse off tomorrow?” asked a slick video that was tweeted just after 4pm on Friday.
And he suggested that the culture wars Mr Johnson has waged over refugees, trans rights, statues and taking the knee would be wound down if he were to become prime minister.
“We’ve had enough of division. Politics at its best is a unifying endeavour, and I have spent my career bringing people together. Because that is the only way to succeed,” the video said.
The launch made Mr Sunak the third declared candidate, alongside Tom Tugendhat, the inexperienced chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, and Brexiteer attorney general Suella Braverman.
Former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch became the fourth to launch a bid for the Tory leadership on Friday.
Ms Badenoch, who resigned from her post on Wednesday, wrote in The Times that she would lower taxes alongside “tight spending” and that she wanted to run a “limited government focused on the essentials”.
The Independent understands that Mr Hunt, who lost to Mr Johnson in 2019, will launch his campaign on Sunday, when the foreign secretary Liz Truss is also expected to enter the race.
Mr Wallace is still mulling over a bid in discussions with friends and family, but is expected to make his pitch and is thought to have the backing of around 30 supporters of Mr Johnson from three years ago.
The party’s 1922 Committee will decide the timetable for the first stage of the election on Monday, which will see Conservative MPs whittle down the candidates to a shortlist of just two.
Voting could take place on almost every Commons sitting day to complete the process by the time MPs leave for their summer recess on 21 July.
Conservative members will then make the final choice, after hustings across the country, with the aim of declaring the winner in late August – although there is pressure to move faster.
Mr Sunak’s chances of replacing Mr Johnson appeared to have been sunk when The Independent revealed his wife’s tax-reducing non-dom status and he admitted holding a US green card while he was chancellor.
His standing has been revived, not least by his resignation this week over the Chris Pincher scandal, but Tory members might resent his caution over immediate tax cuts favoured by other candidates.
The former chancellor won the immediate endorsement of several senior Tories, including Commons leader Mark Spencer and former ministers Mark Harper and Bob Neill.
The Independent has revealed how a whistleblower says a focus group he authorised under a £500,000 taxpayer-funded deal was an attempt to “improve the Tories’ image” – despite official denials.
In Mr Sunak’s three-minute video, he spoke of his immigrant grandmother arriving in the UK “armed with hope for a better life”, saving enough money to bring over her family.
“One of those children was my mother, aged 15. My mum studied hard and got the qualifications to become a pharmacist. She met my dad, an NHS GP, and they settled in Southampton,” he related.
The video added: “Their story didn’t end there, but that is where my story began” – a story Mr Sunak now hopes will take him to 10 Downing Street.
Nadhim Zahawi, the current chancellor, the trade minister Penny Mordaunt, the former health secretary Sajid Javid, the ex-Brexit minister Steve Baker and the Northern Research Group chair Jake Berry are also expected to be candidates.
Comparisons to the Grand National race grew after a little-known backbencher astonished colleagues by saying he might “throw my hat in the ring”.
John Baron said: “I am going to take soundings over the weekend, so I’m keeping my powder dry. I will be talking to a few people over the weekend and we will see what happens.”
