Conservative leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has been forced to defend her time in government as her rivals intensify attacks on her ministerial record.
The bettors ’favorite to win the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister has accused other campaigns of conducting“ black operations ”briefings against her to damage her chances of reaching the last two of the contest.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Commerce Minister insisted that her successes in government proved that she could “do things” and showed that she was ready for the main job.
“Look at my record, look at what I’ve done,” he said. “The first job I had in government, I managed to end the conflict of firefighters, pensions and strikes. Other ministers do not.
“I achieved true international leadership for this country and made a tangible difference in people’s lives on the issue of disability, as well as changing the perceptions of our government, in that regard.
“In the 85 days I was in the Ministry of Defense [Ministry of Defence], I introduced some things that have undergone a radical change in terms of our command structure and the fact that the men and women of our armed forces will never, ever again pay less than the decent wage. I do things. “
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Mordaunt also pointed to his work on the UK resilience strategy and the compensation plan for victims of the contaminated blood scandal as examples of his good work in government.
It comes after a week of strict attacks on his credentials by rival Conservative leadership campaigns, which prompted Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer to accuse candidates of “scratching their eyes”.
A recent wave of negative coverage has included an attack by former Brexit negotiator David Frost, as well as a lengthy “dossier” in the Daily Mail, setting out Mordaunt’s allegedly liberal views.
The right-wing newspaper once again devoted its cover to promoting Foreign Minister Liz Truss’ flagrant campaign, while also including an interview with Amanda Platell, Mordaunt’s former head of the CCHQ, who said that Mordaunt’s idea as prime minister “fills me with horror.”
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“People are obviously trying to keep me from getting into the final because they don’t want to run against me,” Mordaunt said Friday. Recent polls have shown he would win the final vote among Conservative members against any of his leadership rivals.
The race for No. 10 erupted in bitterness after the first televised debate Friday night, in which there were open discussions about fiscal and identity policy.
A few hours after Truss tried to revitalize his campaign with the announcement of new tax cuts costing more than £ 20bn a year, Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, openly ridiculed his former colleague’s plans during the Channel 4 broadcast.
In a separate discussion, Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch clashed over the former’s views on trans rights. When Truss refused to support his version of events on the government’s equality office policies, Badenoch said, “Come on, Liz, tell the truth.”