It comes as Tory infighting grows...
In a sign of just how brutal and chaotic the Tory leadership campaign has become, one of the frontrunners to replace Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, has demanded her rivals sign a ‘non-aggression pact’ to stop brutal attacks on one another.
Badenoch, who is among the favourites to replace Sunak, is fearful about the other candidates uniting against her and is ‘bracing for a circular firing squad in the contest as part of a “Stop Kemi” campaign’, the Sun reports.
According to one members poll carried out by Queen Mary university, Badenoch has the support of 31% of those surveyed, while Suella Braverman was on 16% and Tom Tugendhat on 15%.
Further signs of bitter Tory infighting following the party’s worst electoral defeat in parliamentary history occurred earlier in the week when it emerged that Badenoch had torn into Sunak at the party’s first shadow cabinet meeting.
She slammed the former Prime Minister for calling an early election without consulting the cabinet, and said that Sunak’s D-Day blunder cost figures like Penny Mordaunt their seats.
Badenoch also took aim at fellow leadership rival Suella Braverman, and claimed her colleague was having a “very public” nervous breakdown.
Badenoch faces a challenge on the right from ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, as well as from former home secretary Suella Braverman.
From the moderate Tory wing Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat is also hoping to run.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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