Penny Mordaunt has become the first Conservative MP to officially enter the race to be the next Prime Minister.
The current Leader of the House of Commons announced on her Twitter account that she will be running to succeed Liz Truss who quit as Prime Minister yesterday after a disastrous six weeks in post.
In a short statement, Ms Mordaunt said: "’I've been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest. I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister - to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next General Election."
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Ms Mordaunt finished third in the race to take over from Boris Johnson when he resigned as Prime Minister - a contest that was won by Ms Truss. She had been widely expected to take another run at the job and this has now been confirmed.
The rules around the contest now state that she must get the nominations of at least 100 Tory MPs before Monday afternoon to make it through to a final run-off. The new Conservative leader and Prime Minister will be elected next Friday.
While Ms Mordaunt is the first to declare, it is widely expected that she will soon be joined by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Meanwhile it is becoming increasingly likely that despite only resigning as Prime Minister in July, Boris Johnson will also enter the race.
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