Why is Penny Mordaunt Being Touted to Replace Rishi Sunak?

That the Conservatives are in an electoral pickle is beyond doubt.

Just this week, YouGov’s latest poll for The Times gave Labour a 24 point lead over the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Survation’s latest  data  puts Labour’s lead at  19 points with the Conservatives on their lowest vote share recorded by Survation since February 2023.

After a torrid week for the Prime Minister in the wake of Lee Anderson’s defection to Reform UK, and Downing Street’s difficulties in responding to accusations of racism against one of the Conservatives’ biggest donors, the mood music seems to be shifting, with attention turning to the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt as a potential ‘unity’ candidate to replace the Prime Minister in an effort to stem the electoral meltdown the Conservatives now face.

One only has to look at the headline to see how serious the proposition is being considered.

The Sun on Sunday splashes with: “Tory rebels hatch plan to oust Rishi Sunak and hold ‘papal conclave’ to anoint Penny Mordaunt PM in just one afternoon.”

The Telegraph has gone with: “Right-wing Tory MPs want Mordaunt to oust Sunak”, whilst the Daily Mail has declared: “Plot to crown Penny Mordaunt as PM: Tory MPs on Right have held secret talks with moderates about replacing Rishi Sunak with Leader of the House.”

The Sunday Times, ‘Inside No. 10’ column meanwhile concludes: “It’s Rishi Sunak’s worst week yet — and Penny Mordaunt’s on manoeuvres.”

But why is Penny Mordaunt seen as the potential answer to the Conservatives’ woes?

Firstly, she is popular with Conservative Party members. Conservative Home’s regular poll of party members continues to put Penny Mordaunt at the top of their league table of favoured cabinet ministers.

Secondly, she’s popular with Conservative voters. A poll of those who voted Conservative at the 2019 election by Deltapoll last month found that among leading candidates to take over from Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt was the only one viewed as likely to have a better chance of winning an election for the Conservatives if she was leader.

And finally, and perhaps most crucially, she is the more popular choice with the public. According to Lord Ashcroft’s recent poll asked about the degree to which leading Conservatives would be an asset or liability during the general election campaign,  “only Penny Mordaunt was considered more of an asset (by 28% to 21%).”

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