Thirteenth Tory leadership hopeful joins race

Sam Gyimah has become the thirteenth Conservative MP to join the race for the party’s leadership, as leading contenders jostle to position themselves as the best person to succeed Theresa May.

The former universities minister has pledged to hold another Brexit referendum, becoming the only candidate to do so. He also said he would back Remain in another vote – putting him at odds with other leadership rivals.

His stance “of course means he has absolutely no chance of winning a contest decided by Tory MPs and Tory members”, says Politico’s Jack Blanchard, but he nevertheless told Sky News he wanted to “broaden the race” and denied his campaign was a stunt to position himself for a cabinet post under a future leader.

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As the competition for Number 10 hots up, frontrunner Boris Johnson suffered a setback after The Times reported Amber Rudd is preparing to support Matt Hancock and then Michael Gove in the Tory leadership battle after talks with the former foreign secretary to formulate a dream team alliance “collapsed in acrimony”.

The work and pensions secretary, who is said to harbour ambitions to become chancellor, apparently tried to persuade Johnson to ditch his plans to pursue a no-deal Brexit at a dinner on Thursday but was refused.

However, the Times reports Johnson’s team “believes a Rudd endorsement early in the contest would be counterproductive, with any suggestion of the former foreign secretary watering down his Brexit stance likely to see 15 of his MP backers defect to Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary”.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, became the first big name to throw her weight behind Johnson with the former foreign secretary also picking up a controversial endorsement from US president Donald Trump who told The Sun he would make an “excellent” prime minister.

“In the contest that Johnson is currently running in, it will do him no harm,” says Stephen Bush in The New Statesman. “It underscores his identity as the truest guarantor of Brexit and thereby, in the minds of Tory MPs who are nervous about their election prospects thanks to the rise of the Brexit party, the best bet for taking the air out of Nigel Farage’s balloon”.

“It underlines, however, that the hope retained by some of Johnson’s supporters, that he can leverage the support of the pro-Leave right to win the Tory leadership election and then turn his energies towards reminding social liberals, Remainers and people in big cities why they once liked him is likely to be unfulfilled,” says Bush.

One of Johnson’s main rivals, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, is seeking to appeal to the moderate wing of the party by telling Cabinet ministers he is prepared to delay Brexit until late 2020 rather than leave without a deal on 31 October, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

Gove’s Brexit strategy, which he will unveil this week, “has already won the support of some Remain Cabinet ministers, who believe he is ‘clear-eyed’ about the risks of a no-deal Brexit” says the Telegraph, but “his position puts him directly at odds with other Brexiteer leadership candidates” including Johnson, Raab and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, who have committed to leaving on time with or without a deal.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid became the latest leadership contender to say he was prepared to leave the EU with no deal.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Javid ruled out holding another referendum, an early general election or revoking Article 50 to end the Brexit process.

Elsewhere, dark horse candidate Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, “has won praise for his attempts to engage with the public after he set off around the country armed with a selfie stick”, says The Independent.

His hopes were bolstered by an endorsement by Justice Secretary David Gauke, who said Stewart was a “strong contender”.

The number of Tories throwing their hat in the ring could be set to swell even further, with strong hints Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt and arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker are set to announce their candidacies before nominations close on 7 June.