Thirteenth Tory leadership hopeful joins race

Sam Gyimah may not be the last contender to
throw hat in the ring before nominations close

One-Minute Read

The former universities minister has pledged to hold another
Brexit referendum, becoming the only candidate to do so. He also
said he would back Remain in another vote – putting him at odds
with other leadership rivals.

His stance “of course means he has absolutely no chance of
winning a contest decided by Tory MPs and Tory members”, says
Politico’s Jack Blanchard, but he nevertheless
told Sky News he wanted to “broaden the race” and denied his
campaign was a stunt to position himself for a cabinet post under a
future leader.

As the competition for Number 10 hots up, frontrunner Boris
Johnson suffered a setback after The Times reported Amber Rudd is preparing to
support Matt Hancock and then Michael Gove in the Tory leadership
battle after talks with the former foreign secretary to formulate a
dream team alliance “collapsed in acrimony”.

The work and pensions secretary, who is said to harbour
ambitions to become chancellor, apparently tried to persuade
Johnson to ditch his plans to pursue a no-deal Brexit at a dinner
on Thursday but was refused.

However, the Times reports Johnson’s team “believes a Rudd
endorsement early in the contest would be counterproductive, with
any suggestion of the former foreign secretary watering down his
Brexit stance likely to see 15 of his MP backers defect to Dominic
Raab, the former Brexit secretary”.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, became the first big
name to throw her weight behind Johnson with the former foreign
secretary also picking up a controversial endorsement from US
president Donald Trump who told The Sun he would make an “excellent” prime
minister.

“In the contest that Johnson is currently running in, it will do
him no harm,” says Stephen Bush in the New Statesman. “It
underscores his identity as the truest guarantor of Brexit and
thereby, in the minds of Tory MPs who are nervous about their
election prospects thanks to the rise of the Brexit party, the best
bet for taking the air out of Nigel Farage’s balloon”.

“It underlines, however, that the hope retained by some of
Johnson’s supporters, that he can leverage the support of the
pro-Leave right to win the Tory leadership election and then turn
his energies towards reminding social liberals, Remainers and
people in big cities why they once liked him is likely to be
unfulfilled,” says Bush.

One of Johnson’s main rivals, Environment Secretary Michael
Gove, is seeking to appeal to the moderate wing of the party by
telling Cabinet ministers he is prepared to delay Brexit until late
2020 rather than leave without a deal on 31 October, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

Gove’s Brexit strategy, which he will unveil this week, “has
already won the support of some Remain Cabinet ministers, who
believe he is ‘clear-eyed’ about the risks of a no-deal Brexit”
says the Telegraph, but “his position puts him directly at odds
with other Brexiteer leadership candidates”
including Johnson, Raab and former work and pensions secretary
Esther McVey, who have committed to leaving on time with or without
a deal.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid became the latest leadership
contender to say he was prepared to leave the EU with no deal.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Javid ruled out holding another
referendum, an early general election or revoking Article 50 to end
the Brexit process.

Elsewhere, dark horse candidate Rory Stewart, the international
development secretary, “has won praise for his attempts to engage
with the public after he set off around the country armed with a
selfie stick”, says The Independent.

His hopes were bolstered by an endorsement by Justice Secretary
David Gauke, who said Stewart was a “strong contender”.

The number of Tories throwing their hat in the ring could be set
to swell even further, with strong hints Defence Secretary Penny
Mordaunt and arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker are set to announce their
candidacies before nominations close on 7 June.