Like many in the last week, I’ve been scrambling around looking for the real Penny Mordaunt. Not the Penny Mordaunt this surprise leading contender wants to present to us, but the woman she may want to hide.
It would be tempting right now to think this naval reservist, who hails from Torquay and lost her mother to cancer when she was 15, is our most likely new Prime Minister, such is the force of momentum behind her this week. The polls put her ahead, the betting odds have her as the clear favourite. As I write this, Mordaunt, is only second behind Rishi Sunak, on 83 MPs to his 101. But the junior minister gained 16 new endorsements in this second round, to his 13. And this weekend, despite never having held a position of high office, except for two years in Cabinet under Theresa May as international development secretary and briefly defence secretary as well, she is likely to be the most impressive in the TV debates, which is vital to keep her momentum going.
