TORY leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has taken a furious swipe at Boris Johnson as she becomes the NINTH candidate to enter the race for Number 10.
The Minister of State for Trade Policy called for the country to elect someone who will make the office of Prime Minister “a little less about the leader”.
In a nod to her naval heritage, the MP for Portsmouth North said: “Our leadership has to change.
“It needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship.”
She made the announcement on Twitter as she shared a video of bucolic scenes of Britain set to I Vow To Thee My Country.
She is the activists’ favourite, according to bookies.
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Ms Mordaunt has joined a raft of major figures within the Conservative Party all vying to get the keys to 10 Downing Street when Mr Johnson steps down in September.
Other candidates to have thrown their hat into the ring are: Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, Liz Truss, foreign secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed chancellor and Grant Shapps, the transport secretary.
The ex-health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid are also in the running while Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are also vying to become PM.
But the hot favourite is former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
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Moderate Tom Tugendhat, another declared candidate, told The Sun he would slash VAT and business tax, plus tariffs on imported food and clothes.
While Liz Truss told colleagues she is the only contender who can keep the Boris legacy going.
Boris assassin Mr Javid has not yet announced his candidacy, although it’s expected both he and current Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi are poised to do so in the coming days.
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Allies say former Health Secretary and 2019 runner up Jeremy Hunt was “certain to run” and friends of ultra-Boris loyalist Nadine Dorries said she was considering running to “keep the BoJo flame alive”.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace pulled out of the competition on Saturday saying he wanted to focus on protecting Britain.
