Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has pledged to reverse the controversial national insurance hike if made Tory leader, as she insisted she can be “trusted to deliver”. The senior Cabinet minister, who is widely expected to be a front-runner in the already crowded race, promised to “start cutting taxes from day one” to help with the cost of living.
With newly appointed Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti also declaring his candidacy on Sunday evening, there are now 11 Tories in the running for the top job.
Other contenders include former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt, ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak, his successor Nadhim Zahawi, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and trade minister Penny Mordaunt. Former minister Kemi Badenoch and senior backbencher Tom Tugendhat have also thrown their hats into the ring.
