Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt one of the favourites to take over the Tory party
PENNY Mordaunt has been named as one of the front-runners to become the future Conservative leader.
The Portsmouth North MP and current trade minister was ranked as the third most popular to succeed Boris Johnson following a poll among Tory leaders.
However, top of the pack to take over from Mr Johnson was foreign secretary Liz Truss. Just over 23 per cent of Tory party members would like to see the MP become prime minister, compared to 20 per cent who wished to see chancellor Rishi Sunak take the reins.
The poll of 786 members, conducted by Conservative Home, found trade Ms Mordaunt was third-favourite to take over on eight per cent.
It reflects a significant jump in popularity for Ms Truss among party members.
In the same poll in August, she was backed by just 12 per cent of Tory members, with Mr Sunak on 31 per cent.
The latest poll came as rumours of a leadership challenge have intensified after Boris Johnson faced the most turbulent two-month period of his premiership, with a series of scandals denting his party’s lead in the polls.
The introduction of Plan B restrictions sparked a significant rebellion among Tory backbenchers, with nearly 100 Conservative MPs voting against the Government earlier this month.
The PM also faced fury amid claims that Downing Street staff held a Christmas party in December 2020 in breaching lockdown rules.