cabinet minister Ben Wallace dealt a potentially fatal blow to Rishi Sunak’s hopes of becoming prime minister by backing rival Liz Truss and rebuke him for running away Boris Johnson‘s government.
The defense secretary is hugely popular with Tory members who will vote for the next party leader and was tipped to rule himself.
But after ruling himself out, he finally went public about the Minister of Foreign Affairs last night, after making it through the first of 12 member meetings.
In contrast, during the question-and-answer session, Mr. Sunak was attacked by a member for his role in “stabbing Boris Johnson in the back.”
Wallace, a former soldier, said she was “authentic, honest and experienced” with the “integrity” for the top job. He also said he was caught off guard by her plan to increase defense spending.
But in an interview with The Sun and writing in the Times, he addressed the former chancellor, echoing Johnson’s supporter, by suggesting he was instrumental in the prime minister’s downfall.
And today he told Sky News: ‘Some ministers don’t have the luxury of walking away. If you really look at that article, I was asked why I didn’t resign. And I said that some ministers don’t have the luxury of stepping down because essentially we have duties and obligations.’
Defense Secretary described Foreign Secretary as ‘authentic, honest and experienced’
Wallace lashed out at the former chancellor, wondering what would have happened if the markets collapsed the day he stepped down from office
Mr Wallace finally went out last night to support the Secretary of State, having made it through the first of 12 members’ meetings smoothly.
The defense secretary is hugely popular with Tory members who will vote for the next party leader and was tipped to rule himself.
Liz Truss appeared to have increased her chances of beating Rishi Sunak and becoming Prime Minister tonight after coming out on top when they were first grilled by Tory members.
She joked about her time in the city before vowing she’d beat “patronizing, plastic patriot” Keir Starmer in the next election if she became prime minister.
Mr Sunak was verbally attacked by a member during the question-and-answer session for his role in ‘stabbing Boris Johnson in the back’.
When asked if he would have liked to resign, he said ‘no’ and added: ‘But I also made it clear, and I tweeted at the time for those colleagues who do want to express their confidence in the government, that there are is a very simple way of doing that.
“The following week, a committee was to come on Monday, 1922, a few days after Rishi stepped down, and they could have done it like that. They could have voted for the prime minister by trusting the party.’
He added: “I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do to push cabinet ministers to leave at a time of crisis. “There were other mechanisms for doing what they wanted. If Rishi Sunak didn’t want the prime minister to become prime minister, there are other mechanisms to do that. And that applies to all other ministers.’
Ben Wallace explained why he decided to support Ms Truss and told Sky: ‘I thought what I was going to do at the start of this match is step back.
“I am the Secretary of State for Defence, I want to find a candidate who will do the Department good and recognize that the threats we face every day are very real and growing and they need to be properly funded.
“We can’t pretend they’re going to go away on their own.
“So you know, I’ve watched their performances. I’ve watched them on the hustings, but I also know them both. I’ve been in cabinet for two years with both the Chancellor and Liz Truss. And so, you know, it was important for me to figure out who the right person was to take us forward. So, you know, I know Liz, she’s very straight. She’s authentic, what you see is what you get, but she’s also been very consistent in her support for defense and security. She reads the same intelligence reports as I do.
“I felt it was the right person to support.”
Wallace out of the running to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, despite being the bookmakers’ favorite to win.
The 52-year-old politician topped a YouGov poll of potential runners to take over Conservative Party leader and had assembled a campaign team.
But he announced on Twitter that he would not participate in the race, days after Boris Johnson announced his resignation.
Wallace said on Twitter: “After careful consideration and consultation with colleagues and family, I have made the decision not to enter the contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party.”
He added it hadn’t been an “easy” choice to make, but said his focus is on his role as defense minister and “keeping this great country safe”.
Following the announcement, Wallace would be a ‘kingmaker’ in the Tory leadership race, but would ‘wait until the final stage to announce who he supports’ to become prime minister.
A friend of Mr Wallace told The Times at the time that he is a ‘kingmaker’ in the race because of his popularity with the grassroots in the party.
The approval came after the candidates were individually polled on a wide range of policy areas – as well as their predictions for the 2022 European Championship final for women – as they tried to lure Northern voters into the race for the top job.
Liz Truss It seemed to have increased her chances of beating Rishi Sunak and becoming prime minister tonight after coming out on top when they were first grilled by Tory members.
The Foreign Secretary has been more relaxed than previous somewhat wooden forays into the campaign, playing out her local roots in her home city of Leeds.
She joked about her time in the city before vowing she’d beat “patronizing, plastic patriot” Keir Starmer in the next election if she became prime minister.
She was also praised for saying she was proud to have worked for Boris Johnson — and for supporting gender-specific toilets.
In contrast, Mr. Sunak faced some tough questions about his role in Mr. Johnson’s political downfall. A party member told him that “a lot of people think you stabbed him in the back,” adding: “I’m not quite sure what planet you’re on.”
Sections of the crowd at the Conservative Party hustings clapped as host Nick Ferrari said Boris Johnson would be included in the vote.
The LBC presenter referred to reports that about 14,000 members of the Conservative Party wanted Mr Johnson’s name on the ballot.
When asked what he would say to those MEPs, Mr Sunak said: ‘Whether he’s on the ballot or not, ultimately you have to be able to gain your MEPs’ confidence in Parliament, and we got to a point where almost 60 of them had resigned from government.’
He also said he would not give outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson a job in his cabinet, but promised to support the return of high schools.
Under questioning, Ms Truss played out her loyalty to Mr Johnson by saying she had been “proud” to work for him and “has always been a fan.”
The hustings was the first of 12 allowing party supporters across the country to poll the final two candidates before voting for the next party leader on September 2 and the prime minister closing on September 2.