Matt Hancock backs Rishi Sunak in race to be Prime Minister saying Britain needs ‘fresh leadership’ while Dominic Raab says ex-Chancellor is ‘the stand-out candidate’
- Matt Hancock and Dominic Raab have backed Rishi Sunak to be the next PM
- Mr Hancock said Mr Sunak has ‘seriousness of purpose and good character’
- Former deputy Prime Minister Raab said the ex-Chancellor would restore trust
- However both praised Mr Johnson, despite backing his rival for the leadership
Matt Hancock has backed Rishi Sunak in the race to be the next Prime Minister saying that Britain needs ‘fresh leadership’ while Dominic Raab has said the ex-Chancellor is the ‘stand-out candidate’.
In a Tweet, ex-Health Secretary Mr Hancock said he had worked closely with candidates Mr Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt and admired all three.
He wrote: ‘With the challenges we face today: economic crisis and the need to restore authoritative leadership, @RishiSunak is the best person to lead our country. I’m voting Rishi and hope you are too.’
Speaking to SkyNews this morning, Mr Raab said Mr Sunak was the ‘stand out candidate’ and that it was ‘difficult to see’ how Mr Johnson could become PM again while ‘absorbed and distracted’ by the fall out from partygate.
Former deputy PM Mr Raab said there is a ‘crisis of confidence and trust in the government’ and that Mr Sunak was the ‘best placed candidate to restore that trust’.
In a Tweet, ex-Health Secretary Mr Hancock said he had worked closely with candidates Mr Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt and admired all three
In a statement, Mr Hancock said the country needs ‘fresh leadership’ after political instability and that Mr Sunak ‘ticks all the boxes’.
He wrote: ‘He has fine judgement, seriousness of purpose and good character.
‘We need a Prime Minister who can restore trust in the markets and restore confidence in the Conservative party after the chaos of the last few months.
‘Rishi has been proved right on the economy, and has the experience to deliver. It’s not good enough to say you want to deliver: you have to know how.’
‘We need to be backing businesses, reducing regulation and securing free trade deals across the world, all while promoting our liberal values on the global stage. Rishi will do that.
‘It’s for all these reasons that I’m backing Rishi Sunak and urge my Conservative colleagues to unite behind him.’
Speaking to SkyNews this morning, Mr Raab said Mr Sunak was the ‘stand out candidate’ and that it was ‘difficult to see’ how Mr Johnson could become PM again while ‘absorbed and distracted’ by the fall out from partygate
In a statement backing Mr Sunak, Mr Hancock said he ‘ticks all the boxes’ and that few had worked more closely with the former Chancellor than himself
Mr Raab told SkyNews he was ‘confident’ Mr Sunak would run in the Tory leadership race and that he has been ‘consistently right about what we need to get financial stability restored to get inflation down, mortgage interest rates down, get investment up for millions of workers and businesses across the country,’
‘That’s the fundamental economic challenge we face. But we also face a political challenge and a crisis of confidence and trust in the government.
‘I think again he is the best placed candidate to restore that trust, get a government of all the talents across the Conservative Party and get the government focused relentlessly on going forward on the priorities of the British people.’
Despite pledging support for his rival, Mr Hancock and Mr Raab both praised Mr Johnson.
Mr Hancock said he supported Mr Johnson as he had the ‘best chance to end Brexit paralysis’ and beat Jeremy Corbyn, who he described as ‘the most dangerous Labour leader in my lifetime’.
Mr Hancock said Mr Sunaks ‘has been proved right on the economy, and has the experience to deliver’
Former deputy PM Mr Raab said there is a ‘crisis of confidence and trust in the government’ and that Mr Sunak was the ‘best placed candidate to restore that trust’
He went on to say he was proud of what he and Mr Johnson achieved together, including the vaccine rollout.
Mr Raab also complimented Mr Johnson, to whom he was deputy PM, by saying he ‘respected him hugely’.
However he said the committee on standards and privileges was just days from taking testimony on partygate, which could see Mr Johnson suspended if he is found to have misled Parliament.
Mr Raab said he assumed this would involved Mr Johnson giving oral evidence and at this time a PM with a ‘laser-like focus on the issues facing the country’ was needed.
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