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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Kieran Isgin

Tory leadership election: everyone who's standing and what they're promising

Following Boris Johnson's resignation as Prime Minister, a high number of Tories have decided to join the race for leadership and become his successor.

Currently, there are 10 candidates who have put their names forward for the contest and including some high-profilers such as Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid and Liz Truss. In order to qualify for the ballot, all contesters must have the backing of at least 20 MPs.

On Tuesday Moning former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced he was pulling out of the contest.

Here's a breakdown of every candidate who hopes to become the next leader of the Conservative Party.

Read more: BREAKING: Man, 23, dies after Range Rover crashes into phone mast - a woman, 23, has been arrested

Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak (Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his bid for leadership in a three-minute campaign video last Friday. He is kicking off his campaign with the promise to "restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country".

Mr Sunak rose to prominence during the coronavirus pandemic after announcing a multi-million support budget for struggling businesses as well as setting up a furlough scheme for employees - a first in British history. More recently, he has made headlines for attempting to tackle the soaring cost of living crisis by introducing a fuel duty cut, removing VAT on energy-saving equipment and reducing national insurance payments for small businesses.

Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Former health secretary Sajid Javid launched his bid for leadership on Monday. At the time he said: "I don't have a ready-made logo or a slick video to go - what I do have is a passion and desire to get Britain onto the right course and steer it through the gathering storm."

During his time as health secretary, Mr Javic helped curve public health policy in regards to the coronavirus pandemic as the nation was experiencing a third wave in cases. He strongly advocated the government opinion that the public must "learn to accept the existence of Covid and find ways to cope with it - just as we already do with flu".

Penny Mordaunt

Penny Mordaunt (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

Mordaunt launches her campaign on Sunday with a somewhat awkward video that featured some figures such as killer Oscar Pistorius. Another figure in the video, GB Paralympian Jonnie Peacock, requested for his footage to be removed - a revised version of the video was posted hours later.

The international trade minister put forward her bid for leadership, stating the UK's leadership "needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship".

During her political career, Ms Mordaunt was one of the more prominent voices for the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Liz Truss

Liz Truss (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was one of the few prominent Tories who refused to turn on the Prime Minister shortly before he announced his resignation. Pledging her bid for leadership, she promised to reverse the national insurance hike.

Ms Truss has a wide range of experience across Whitehall and has most recently been a strong voice against Russia, arguing that the invader needs to be driven from Ukraine. She has also threatened to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU.

Nadhim Zahawi

Nadhim Zahawi (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

Mr Zahawi announced his bid by promising to lower taces, improve education for the country and pledging to "steady the ship" and "stabilise the economy". He also said he would take a stance against so-called culture war issues and wants to protect children from what he believes is "damaging and inappropriate nonsense from radical activists".

Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Mr Hunt announced his bid with similar promises to his fellow former-health secretary Javid such as cutting taxes. Positioning himself as a staunch remainer during the Brexit referendum, Mr Hunt has been a frequent outspoken critic of Mr Johnson.

Suella Braverman

Suella Braverman (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The Attorney General launched a surprising bid for leadership on Wednesday night and has earned the support of Brexiteer Steve Baker.

Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch (House of Commons)

Former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch announced her bid by stating she will lead a government "focused on the essentials". She also announced that she will support lower taxes "to boost growth and production, and accompanied by tight spending discipline".

She also spoke out against 'identity politics' in The Times, adding that Mr Johnson was "a symptom of the problems we face, not the cause of them."

Tom Tugendhat

Tom Tugendhat (Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee was among the first to announce his bid for leadership should Johnson resign, going as far back as throwing his hat into the ring in January. The former soldier wrote in the Telegraph: "I have served before, in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister."

Rehman Chishti

Rehman Chishti (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The newly-appointed Foreign Office minister is already looking for a promotion after posting an announcement video on Facebook. He noted that the right candidate would have "a proven track record of coming to the table with ideas and creativity to help improve people's lives".

Previously, he resign as Johnson's special envoy for freedom of religion over the government's stance on the Northern Ireland protocol.

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