Javid backs Rishi Sunak, Sharma supports Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt is first to declare Tory leadership run – UK politics live

Sajid Javid backs Rishi Sunak

Boris Johnson’s former chancellor and health secretary Sajid Javid has come out to back Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest, should he announce he is standing.

Javid resigned as health secretary earlier this year and gave a critical speech in the Commons in which he questioned Johnson’s credibility, and called on others to resign.

He posted on Twitter today that the country “desperately needs economic stability, hard-headed decision making and strong leadership”.

Javid said: “ It is abundantly clear that Rishi Sunak has what it takes to match the challenges we face – he is the right person to lead our party and take the country forward.

“I also believe it is in the national interest to have a strong Conservative party. The only way for our party to reclaim our values and recover our reputation for stewardship is to move on from mistakes of the past and come together to focus on the future.”

Updated at 12.31 EDT

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A Boris Johnson-supporting MP has said the former prime minister told him he is “up for it” and will fly back to the UK from his Caribbean holiday to stand in the Tory leadership contest.

Sir James Duddridge told the PA Media: “I’ve been in contact with the boss via WhatsApp.

“He’s going to fly back. He said, ‘I’m flying back, Dudders, we are going to do this. I’m up for it’.”

Hague: Johnson returning as PM would spell ‘death spiral’ for Tories

Former Conservative party leader Lord William Hague has said it would be a “very very bad idea” for Boris Johnson to return as leader and to become prime minister.

In an interview with Times Radio, Hague, who was leader from 1997 to 2001, before becoming foreign secretary under David Cameron said: “This all started, this unravelling, because Boris Johnson was unable to run the government in the right way, to keep it together in the right way and to uphold the high standards of conduct in the highest offices in the land.

“The idea of him returning as the solution, that would be going around in circles, circles that become the death spiral of the Conservative party, and I think it’s the worst idea I’ve heard in the 46 years I’ve been a member of the Conservative party.”

Hague has said he will back Rishi Sunak, who he also supported during the summer’s leadership contest.

If you’re still trying to get to grips with how the Conservative party leadership contest will pan out over the next week, here are three likely scenarios.

An infographic showing three scenarios for the Tory leadership party contest

A somewhat optimistic idea here from the Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen, who earlier issued a joint statement alongside the levelling up secretary, Simon Clarke, supporting Boris Johnson’s candidacy, if he decides to stand.

He suggests that Johnson should appoint Rishi Sunak as his chancellor, if he wins, both resuming roles they had until Sunak’s resignation.

It’s unlikely, as many Johnson supporters blame Sunak for the former’s departure from Downing Street. It’s thought to have affected Sunak’s performance in the subsequent leadership election, with claims he “knifed” Johnson in the back.

Updated at 13.08 EDT

As the political story for the coming couple of days is who will get on the ballot to become the next Conservative party leader and prime minister, the Spectator’s deputy political editor, Katy Balls, has written an opinion piece about the “shock and awe” campaign to get Boris Johnson back in Downing Street, and how he will probably have to overcome Rishi Sunak.

The main talk among MPs is about a Sunak v Johnson playoff. Up until today, Sunak was widely regarded as the frontrunner. His warnings on the economy during the leadership campaign have been proved right. He could also go some way to calming the markets. He leads on MP nominations. However, there are still plenty of Tories who dislike him. “Rishi can’t unite the party,” says one MP in the centre. Though it’s not clear at this point that anyone could.

Others fear a revolt from Tory members if he is pushed through. “They did have the option of Rishi and they said no. I like him; I’d vote for him – but I’m not sure it works with the grassroots,” says a member of the 2015 intake.

What’s more, he now faces an insurgent campaign from his former boss. The former prime minister had stayed silent as Truss fought to cling on to power. It led to talk that Johnson may not even want to return. But, while he is yet to say so publicly, it’s clear he is testing the water about a return. “He’ll only want to announce if it’s clear he will win – and that the party needs him,” says a former cabinet colleague.

Updated at 13.10 EDT

Alok Sharma to back Boris Johnson

The Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, has said he will back Boris Johnson if he stands.

Sharma was appointed to the climate role by Johnson after serving as his business secretary. He tweeted: “I am backing Boris Johnson – he won a mandate from the electorate in 2019.

“We need to get back to delivering on the Conservatives manifesto we were elected on.”

Updated at 13.10 EDT

Another MP has announced his support for Rishi Sunak if he decides to run in the race to become the next prime minister: Johnny Mercer, who has been speaking to BBC Radio 4.

Mercer told the PM programme that Sunak, who lost to Truss in this summer’s leadership contest, was “capable, professional, calm and competent”.

He said: “I think now we need to clearly come behind someone who is capable, professional, calm, competent and will deliver government in a way people expect.”

Mercer, who served as a minister under Johnson, said that while Boris Johnson was a friend, he could not put himself, his constituents or his staff through having him as leader again.

“I love Boris to bits and he’s got amazing qualities for this country but it is now time for serious, competent, straightforward and values-based governance,” he said.

“It’s been a pretty terrible time throughout January/February, he had 60 ministers resign, 140 MPs voted against him.”

Updated at 13.12 EDT

Sajid Javid backs Rishi Sunak

Boris Johnson’s former chancellor and health secretary Sajid Javid has come out to back Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest, should he announce he is standing.

Javid resigned as health secretary earlier this year and gave a critical speech in the Commons in which he questioned Johnson’s credibility, and called on others to resign.

He posted on Twitter today that the country “desperately needs economic stability, hard-headed decision making and strong leadership”.

Javid said: “ It is abundantly clear that Rishi Sunak has what it takes to match the challenges we face – he is the right person to lead our party and take the country forward.

“I also believe it is in the national interest to have a strong Conservative party. The only way for our party to reclaim our values and recover our reputation for stewardship is to move on from mistakes of the past and come together to focus on the future.”

Updated at 12.31 EDT

More Tory MPs have declared their support for Penny Mordaunt.

More than half of Britons would be unhappy to see Boris Johnson return as prime minister, according to a poll.

The YouGov survey of 3,429 adults on Friday suggested 27% would be happy to see him return to office, compared with 52% who did not like the idea. Conservative voters were more favourable, with 25% saying they would be happy and 31% very happy. However, 13% of Tory voters said they would be very unhappy and 8% fairly unhappy.

Updated at 11.59 EDT

Two Conservative MPs who resigned under Boris Johnson’s government in July are backing him to return to Downing Street, Carmen Aguilar García, Michael Goodier and Pamela Duncan write.

The Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Jonathan Gullis, resigned from his role as principal private secretary on 5 July. Today he revealed in a Facebook post that he would support Johnson if he decided to stand.

I have had lots of people from across Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke telling me to bring Boris back. They voted for him and for his 2019 manifesto.

Gullis, who backed Liz Truss in both the first and second round of the last Conservative leadership vote this summer, said in his resignation letter to Johnson he felt that “for too long, we have been more focused on dealing with reputational damage rather than delivering for the people of this country”.

The MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, Dr Caroline Jonson, told the Guardian she was also backing Johnson as new PM. This is three months after quitting as vice-chair of the party.

In her resignation letter she told Johnson the “cumulative effect of your errors of judgment and domestic actions have squandered the goodwill of our great party, Conservative colleagues, and many of my constituents”.

Updated at 11.58 EDT

Proposals to protect service industry staff and NHS workers from harassment by customers or clients have cleared their first step to becoming law.

The Commons backed legislation aimed at putting the onus on employers to protect their workers from harassment by third parties, such as customers. The Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse told the Commons:

An unacceptable number of nurses, paramedics, people who were keyworkers during the pandemic, and everyone in between are being subject to a form of harassment which causes a variety of harms, including psychological, physical and economic harm.

Employers should be required both morally and legally to take all reasonable steps to stop sexual harassment from occurring. The fact that the law of this country does not compel them to do this is a concern.

Under the Bath MP’s worker protection (amendment of Equality Act 2010) bill, if a member of staff is harassed at work by a customer or client, their employer would be considered responsible for the action if they fail to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent it.

Updated at 11.55 EDT

According to PA, Penny Mordaunt’s announcement came after she held talks with the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, in which she assured him he could stay on in No 11 if she won. Sources close to Mordaunt said she had made clear she would proceed with his budget plan, which is due to be announced on 31 October.

Updated at 11.29 EDT