Support 100 years of independent journalism.

As Liz Truss surges, who is Labour’s dream Tory opponent?

Opinion in Keir Starmer’s party is divided on the weakest possible Conservative leader.

By Rachel Wearmouth

Liz Truss’s bid to become Conservative leader gained momentum today (19 July) as she closed the gap to rival Penny Mordaunt in the latest round of voting among Tory MPs. The Foreign Secretary won the backing of 86 colleagues, an increase of 15.

Kemi Badenoch has been knocked out of the contest, despite a groundswell of support for her on the party’s right. Truss, who has backed immediate tax cuts and been the fiercest critic of the front-runner Rishi Sunak in the debates, will be hopeful that many of Badenoch’s 59 supporters line up behind her.

It is unclear if tactical manoeuvrings took place, with rival camps potentially lending votes to others to deprive Badenoch of the chance to beat Truss to the final stages. Michael Gove, one of the Tories’ shrewdest operators, was Badenoch’s highest-profile endorser. The camp he now chooses to join could be decisive in the race.  

Mordaunt won 92 votes (up by ten), with supporters of the centrist Tom Tugendhat, who was eliminated in the previous round, supporting her. But with Badenoch’s votes available, it is Truss who looks most likely to join Sunak in the membership ballot.

[See also: Kemi Badenoch was the anti-groupthink candidate the Tories didn’t know they needed]

Select and enter your email address Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. The New Statesman’s global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. Your new guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture each weekend - from the New Statesman. A weekly newsletter helping you fit together the pieces of the global economic slowdown. A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. The New Statesman’s weekly environment email on the politics, business and culture of the climate and nature crises - in your inbox every Thursday. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates.
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Who would Labour prefer to face, given the choice? Opinion in Keir Starmer’s party is split. 

Content from our partners
Supporting customers through the cost of living crisis
Data on cloud will change the way you interact with the government
Defining a Kodak culture for the future

Some policy brains believe Starmer can force Sunak – a household name after the Covid-19 pandemic – to own the economic failures of Boris Johnson’s government. Others point to the success of the former chancellor’s furlough scheme and believe that Truss, who would further expose Labour’s failure to ever elect a female leader, presents a bigger risk.

One Labour MP with a northern seat said: “Tugendhat could’ve been a problem for us, particularly in an area like mine, but thankfully they [the Tories] solved that problem themselves.” They added that most MPs see Truss as having “far more damaging ideas for the country”, but as being “too ineffective to actually see a lot of what she’s promising through”. 

They added that Sunak’s status as a tax-hiking chancellor, with a billionaire wife who held a non-domicile tax status, meant “the attack lines write themselves”. 

Many insist they fear Mordaunt, a relatively untested figure who has struggled during the contest, as she could present her leadership as a clean break with Johnson’s administration. 

With a Labour attack video featuring the Tory leadership candidates tearing into the government’s record receiving 1.5 million views this afternoon, however, the mood among Starmer’s team is buoyant.

The Tory contest has been marked by ferocious blue-on-blue battles, which are unlikely to subside whoever takes the crown. If the Conservatives fail to unite behind the members’ choice in September, Labour’s optimism could last until the next election.

[See also: Will Liz Truss be our new Prime Minister?]