More candidates join race to replace UK PM Johnson

Former UK defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has become the ninth Conservative MP to launch a bid to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as the already fractious race promptly focused on tax.

Mordaunt, 49, an ex-navy reservist who is serving as junior trade minister, is not among the frontrunners to succeed Johnson in recent polls of Tory party members ultimately set to choose their new leader.

But such contests are notoriously unpredictable, and with more than a dozen lawmakers from multiple factions of the ruling party potentially set to run, political commentators say few contenders can be discounted.

The early favourite is former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who launched his campaign on Friday after helping to kickstart the cabinet revolt that led to Johnson's forced resignation on Thursday. 

He is now drawing early fire from Johnson loyalists and rival candidates.

Sunak and former health minister Sajid Javid - who has also declared his candidacy - both resigned late Tuesday, prompting dozens of more junior colleagues to follow suit.

That forced Johnson to then quit as Tory leader 36 hours later.

But the 58-year-old leader, whose three-year premiership has been defined by scandal, the country's departure from the European Union and the Covid pandemic, said he would stay on until his successor is selected.

READ MORE: Demands for Johnson's immediate removal grow as Sunak bids to replace him

Crowded candidate list

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who finished runner-up to Johnson in the last contest in 2019, announced he will stand again late on Saturday.

Current finance minister Nadhim Zahawi - only appointed to the post on Tuesday - and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps have also launched bids.

They join attorney general and arch-Brexiteer Suella Braverman, the relatively unknown former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, and backbench Tory MP Tom Tugendhat on the growing candidate list.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, a frontrunner in recent surveys, is among those expected to still announce.

But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who has impressed in the role and been one of Tory members' favourites, said on Saturday that he would not stand after a discussion with colleagues and family.

Taxation is already a key dividing line in the race, as Britain faces the toxic combination of high inflation and rampant cost-of-living increases alongside stagnant growth and relatively high tax rates.

READ MORE: Report: Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid to join UK leadership race

Promises on high interest rates

Announcing their bids separately in the Sunday Telegraph, Javid and Hunt both vowed to cut corporation tax from 25 to 15 percent.

Javid said he would also slash or change other taxes, including reversing a recent rise in national insurance that is ring-fenced to raise health service funding.

"We cannot fall into a low-growth trap like many other countries have across Europe - we must cut taxes," he told the BBC on Sunday.

Hunt, Shapps and Tugendhat also set out their stances for lower taxes in Sunday morning television appearances.

But declaring his candidacy in a slick video on social media before the weekend, Sunak struck a different tone, warning Tories not to believe "fairytale" pledges.

READ MORE: What the fall of ‘Johnsonism’ could mean for Britain