Rishi Sunak Tops 100 Nominations For Tory Leader

British Conservative politician Rishi Sunak late Friday reached the minimum threshold to run for party leader following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, supporters said.

British Conservative politician Rishi Sunak hit the bottom line late Friday to run for the party leader's post, with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson targeting a bold comeback.

Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt became the first to officially announce her candidacy,

After the UK's ruling party was forced into a second leadership contest after the dramatic resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss.

"I am honored to be the 100th Conservative MP supporting #Ready4Rishi," Senior Representative Tobias Ellwood wrote on Twitter, as other Sunak supporters said.

Sunak would automatically become party leader and prime minister if his opponents also failed to win 100 nominations from their fellow Conservative MPs.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who ran for president after Johnson was ousted in July, issued a veiled plea to the scandal-tainted former leader to stay out of the race.

"This is not the time for political games, for settling scores, or for looking back," Tugendhat said as he endorsed Sunak late Friday.

Neither Sunak nor Johnson has publicly stated that they will run.

But Johnson cut short a Caribbean vacation to participate in the accelerating competition,

Which will see Tory MPs hold a vote on Monday ahead of a possible online ballot of party members next week.

James Dodridge, one of Johnson's closest allies in Parliament, said he had been in touch with his old boss via WhatsApp.

"He said..." We'll do this, said the deputy. I support that."

A Sky News reporter also published a picture apparently showing Johnson on the return flight from the Dominican Republic.

- A new beginning -

The Sunak and Johnson camps are reportedly seeking talks to see if there is room for a unity deal - despite there has been plenty of bad blood since the former prime minister's ouster.

mordaunt,

Who missed the last run-off after Johnson resigned, said she was running for "a new beginning, a united party and leadership in the national interest".

But polling firm YouGov found that three out of five voters now want an early general election, in line with opposition parties' demands,

While the British suffer from a worsening cost of living crisis.

Labor and other parties argue that only an election can end the months of political chaos, which erupted when Johnson forced himself to step down after an ongoing personal and political scandal.

In the resulting competition, Truss won the support of just over 80,000 Conservative Party members, defeating Sunak,

which correctly warned that its right-wing platform of debt-fueled tax cuts would cause the economy to collapse.

Truss, Thursday, announced her resignation after just 44 stormy days in the position.

- 'Questions to answer' -

Political website Guido Fawkes, which runs a rolling spreadsheet of public support from Conservative Party members, Sunak has a score of 103,

Johnson at 68 and Mordaunt at 25 late Friday.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, a Tory favourite, told reporters he was not standing up for himself. "Right now, I'm leaning toward Boris Johnson," he said.

But Wallace added that Johnson still had "a few questions to answer" about the multiple scandals, which led to

Inquiry begins in the House of Commons.

If found guilty of lying to the House of Commons over the "party gate" scandal - the lockdown-breaking celebrations held in Downing Street - Johnson could be suspended or even expelled from Parliament.

As a result of such controversies, Johnson was left No. 10 with poor poll ratings,

Other conservatives were terrified at the prospect of his return.

Veteran MP Roger Gill has warned Johnson could face a wave of resignations from MPs who refuse to serve under him as leader.

- Stabbed in the back -

Johnson's ambiguous appeal was underlined by a YouGov poll that found 52 percent of voters opposed his return.

In Sunak constituency in Yorkshire, northern England, 58-year-old farmer Elaine Stones said the party made a mistake in electing Truss in his stead.

"He is honest and reliable and should have been voted on last time," she told AFP.

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