Health Secretary Matt Hancock has joined Jeremy Hunt in throwing his hat into the ring to replace Theresa May
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has joined Jeremy Hunt in throwing his hat into the ring to replace Theresa May, while Liam Fox refused to rule himself out as a candidate today.
Mr Hancock told the BBC this morning: ‘Yes. I’m going to run to be the next prime minister.’
Mr Hancock said he would take a different approach to try and get Commons support for a Brexit deal than the one Theresa May used.
He said: ‘She didn’t start by levelling with people about the trade-offs.
‘I think it is much, much easier to bring people together behind a proposal if you are straightforward in advance.’
Mr Hancock said: ‘Some of my contenders may say that if they don’t get their preferred option, whether it be no deal or something else, then they’ll have a general election.
‘I put it to you that would be a disaster for the country and it would risk Corbyn by Christmas.’
Mr Hancock’s declaration comes just a day after Jeremy Hunt’s heavy hint that he would stand to replace Mrs May.
‘I’ll make the announcement on my own candidacy at the appropriate time,’ he told his local newspaper the Farnham Herald.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured at Haselmere Festival today) heavily hinted that he will join the race to replace Mrs May as Tory leader as he delivered a speech in his Surrey constituency
‘I think this is a day to remember Theresa May and her duty, her sense of public service, the fact that she has done an incredibly difficult job with enormous integrity, and I think that’s what people up and down the country will be thinking today.’
Brexiteer Dr Fox, the International Trade Secretary, also refused to rule out joining Mr Hancock when he was asked today.
He told the BBC: ‘Well, I don’t think it’s likely to happen, but, as you say, it’s an unusual contest.’
Dr Fox said: ‘It is best for us to leave with an agreement.
‘But, I think that it is possible, and probably increasingly likely now, that we could leave without a deal because I think there’s a limited patience from the European Union with Britain’s constant delay.’
Asked if Labour would force a Commons no confidence vote in the new prime minister when they take office, shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the Today programme: ‘Yes.
‘Because we believe any incoming prime minister in these circumstance should go to the country anyway and seek a mandate.’
Even party shop steward Graham Brady joined the scramble for Number 10, and former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab is expected to follow Mr Hancock by revealing his intentions today.
He tweeted to pay tribute to Mrs May after her emotional resignation speech
Sir Graham revealed his plan to succeed Mrs May as he met her in Downing Street to agree her timetable for departure.
The influential backbencher last night stepped down as chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory MPs and confirmed he was considering becoming a candidate.
A source said there was an awkward moment as Sir Graham revealed his intentions as he met with Mrs May, her chief-of-staff Gavin Barwell and Tory chairman Brandon Lewis.
In his role as 1922 chairman, Sir Graham was due to have a role in deciding the rules of the leadership contest before organising the ballots of Tory MPs.
Last night he released a statement revealing he had resigned from the role so he could take soundings from colleagues on whether to launch a leadership bid.
In the past few weeks, Sir Graham has acted as a middle man between Downing Street and Tory backbenchers.
The Prime Minister announced her departure in an emotional statement on the steps of Downing Street today
Mrs May was overcome by tears as she spoke of her pride at having been PM, even though she admitted to having failed to deliver Brexit
Some members of the 1922 executive committee, of which he is chairman, had threatened to change leadership rules to oust Mrs May if she did not agree to step down.
One minister last night accused him of ‘an abuse of his position’ by plotting to take over while holding responsibility for agreeing with Mrs May when she would quit.
As 1922 committee chairman, Sir Graham was in charge of counting the letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister that led to a leadership challenge in December.
In January, he put forward the so-called Brady amendment to the Brexit deal, which called for the controversial Irish backstop to be replaced by ‘alternative arrangements’.
Sir Graham served as shadow education minister and then shadow Europe minister, but quit in 2007 in protest at David Cameron’s stance against grammar schools.
The self-described ‘grammar school martyr’ joined the party as a 16-year-old to campaign in support of selective education. He has been 1922 committee chairman since 2010.
Mr Hancock is due to be interviewed about his plans on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, while Mr Raab is booked to appear on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show tomorrow.
Hunt is pictured outside Downing Street in March