With three weeks still to go before the general election, candidates and advisers have begun lining up behind their preferred contenders, sources said, with some Tory campaigners complaining they are being inundated with messages from leadership hopefuls.
The manoeuvring comes as one poll by YouGov put the Conservatives behind Reform UK for the first time on 18% - a result that would lead to a historic wipeout at next month's election.
The Reform leader, Nigel Farage, claimed yesterday that the poll showed he was now in effect the leader of the opposition, though that job is likely to fall to one of up to a dozen senior Conservatives after the election.
The early favourites include the former home secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman, the former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, the trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, the Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt and the defence secretary, Grant Shapps. Several of those, however, are fighting to keep their seats, leaving the outcome of any contest highly uncertain.
One Conservative adviser said: "There is quite a bit of manoeuvring going on already. Members of the cabinet are texting candidates regularly just to 'check in', while others are already lining up their leadership teams."
The person added: "It can be quite annoying sometimes you wish they would focus more on the general election campaign."
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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