Rishi Sunak, the UK’s former chancellor, has officially launched his campaign to become the next prime minister in a bid to outpace his rivals, with cabinet endorsements by deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and transport secretary Grant Shapps.
Sunak is the frontrunner in the battle to become Tory party leader, with more publicly declared support from MPs than any of the other remaining nine candidates. But he is seeking to head off opposition from the right of the party, notably from other contenders with more aggressive tax-cutting platforms.
Raab introduced Sunak on stage for the launch of a bid based on fiscal discipline and a pledge to cut taxes only when inflation is under control, describing the former chancellor as a “true Conservative”.
“We need a leader who can win,” Raab said. “The reality is, the polling shows only Rishi can beat Labour.”
Shapps announced he would end his leadership bid and support Sunak. He tweeted: “Amongst a field of brilliant…