Fight gets dirty as Rishi Sunak leads race to replace Boris Johnson as next UK PM

NEW DELHI: British Indian former Cabinet minister Rishi Sunak maintained his lead as the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and next UK prime minister widened on Sunday with a total of nine candidates in the fray, with trade minister Penny Mordaunt emerging as an early second favourite.
The race to succeed Johnson also got bloody on Sunday, with reports of damaging briefings against Sunak and even a so-called “mucky memo” or “dirty dossier” doing the Tory WhatsApp group rounds. The 424-word attack reportedly contains personal attacks branding Sunak a “schoolboy” and a “liar”, who cannot be trusted on tax.

Headlined “Get Ready for Rishi”, after Sunak's Ready4Rishi campaign launch, the memo reportedly brands the 42-year-old MP as having a “Big Tax and Big Spend” agenda, reported ‘The Sunday Telegraph'.
The memo criticises Sunak personally, saying he “publicly lied” when seeking to explain his Indian wife Akshata Murthy's legal non-domicile tax status. Akshata is the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, a founder of the Indian multi-national IT company Infosys
Resignation preplanned?
Pointing to the "fact" that he “secretly" held a Green Card to work in the US 18 months into his chancellorship of the UK, the memo casts doubt over his claim that “his resignation within minutes of [fellow Cabinet minister Sajid Javid] was an unplanned coincidence”.
It also pointed out that he launched his campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party with a website domain registered in December last year.
Sunak’s slick video detailing his vision for Britain as Conservative leader and PM has raised eyebrows among potential supporters after the speed with which it was released prompted accusations of treachery against Johnson.

Sunak, whose shock resignation along with Javid on Tuesday kick-started Johnson’s downfall, released the video on Twitter pledging to “rebuild the economy” and “reunite the country.” MPs privately said they were shocked by the timing of its release.
The three-minute video, with high-end production values suggesting months in the planning, drew an immediate backlash from Conservative MPs questioning how long Sunak had been plotting against Johnson. It was a question brushed off by one of Sunak’s supporters, Cabinet minister Mark Spencer.

“Rishi has been at the center of government for a very long time; as chancellor of the exchequer he was always going to promote himself and promote the Conservative party and the Conservative government,” Spencer said, adding: “So, he would have had access to lots of those snippets of video, and you can pull those things together pretty quickly.”
Newspapers including the Daily Mail reported that Sunak’s campaign website was registered on December 23, demonstrating that his plans for a leadership campaign had been hatched months ago.
Backlash from Johnson's camp
Many in Johnson's camp see his unceremonious departure from 10 Downing Street as being precipitated by Sunak's resignation and are therefore determined to block his campaign.
“Clearly the Prime Minister remains deeply bruised by the Chancellor's resignation. Rishi's camp will have to soak up a lot of anger over the days to come. That will apply to whoever takes over,” Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, told the 'Observer' newspaper.
Partygate allegations
The memo also attempts to tarnish Sunak with Johnson's dubious partygate legacy of Covid law-breaking parties in Downing Street, saying: “Like Boris, (he) landed a 'partygate' fine from the police for breaking lockdown rules”.

Stance on tax
Tax, over which Sunak and former boss Johnson are known to have clashed, will become a central focus of the leadership campaign for a staunchly low-tax Conservative Party.
Sunak has been candid in declaring that tax can be cut only when finances and the global economic situation improve and urged in his campaign launch video to not be swayed by fairy tale promises.
"Do we confront this moment with honesty, seriousness and determination or do we tell ourselves comforting fairy tales that might make us feel better in the moment but will leave our children worse off tomorrow," he questioned.
Fractious race
With no clear front-runner and limited time to find a winner, the race is likely to be fractious.
The Times reported Saturday that Javid, who’s yet to formally declare his candidacy, had been asked by Sunak’s allies to stand aside to give him a clear run at the leadership.

September deadline
Meanwhile, Johnson will stay on until his successor is announced, which the party said will be in September.
The 1922 Committee of rank-and-file Tory MPs is drawing up plans for an accelerated leadership contest, and wants to whittle down candidates to a final two by July 21. The finalists will then do a six-week tour of the UK and Conservative party members will make the final choice, with the next premier to be in place by September.
There is likely to be a wide field of candidates so the barrier to entry is expected to be raised -- such as requiring candidates to have a certain number of backers to get on the ballot paper.
Others tipped to stand include Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, ex-health ministers Javid and Jeremy Hunt, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, and the new chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi.
Senior leaders are pleading for restraint as the war of words threatens to tear the governing party apart and damage its chances in the next general election, expected by 2024.
(With inputs from agencies)