A veteran political strategist who used to work for Boris Johnson has been phoning senior Conservatives presently supporting Rishi Sunak to influence them to again Liz Truss for prime minister.
Mark Fullbrook, who ran the prime minister’s profitable management bid in 2019, has been enjoying a key function within the international secretary’s bid to win over extra high-profile Tory MPs to cement her frontrunner standing.
Truss marketing campaign sources confirmed that the senior aide had been having “lengthy conversations” with high-profile potential switchers, and claimed that “a couple of is wobbly” – however added there have been “not dozens” of MPs who had been about to come back over.
Tory sources advised the Guardian that a minimum of one senior minister who’s presently backing the previous chancellor was contemplating publicly endorsing Truss regardless of the competition solely having two full weeks left to run.
Sunak topped the ultimate spherical of the MPs’ vote with the backing of 137, whereas Truss got here second with 113 votes, simply beating Penny Mordaunt, an early favorite, who picked up 105 supporters. Nonetheless, the polls have persistently recommended that the international secretary is effectively forward amongst celebration members.
The Wales secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, final weekend grew to become the primary cupboard minister to publicly change their endorsement for the Tory management from Sunak to Truss, citing her emphasis on the economic system as a serious motive for his defection.
Days later Alun Cairns, who served as Wales secretary for 3 years beneath David Cameron, Theresa Might and Boris Johnson – introduced he was not backing Sunak as he felt Truss stood the most effective probability of securing the way forward for the union.
Universities minister Chris Skidmore, who co-authored the controversial Britannia Unchained e-book with Truss in 2012, has additionally switched sides.
One Truss marketing campaign supply stated: “Mark has achieved plenty of this, significantly speaking to MPs at a senior degree, however others within the marketing campaign have been concerned too.”
Nonetheless, they denied strategies that the politicians might have been provided positions in a brand new Truss authorities or some other inducements to defect. “There’s not been any jobs provided. It’s undoubtedly been concerning the positives of becoming a member of Liz’s crew. There’s no threats, we’re not Gavin Williamson,” they added.
One senior backbencher who’s a Sunak supporter advised the Guardian they’d been contacted by Truss’s crew, in an try and get them to modify allegiance, however with out success.
One Tory who was known as by Group Truss stated: “Any MP who modifications sides could have shredded their fame in parliament instantly and can discover themselves strolling previous colleagues who would quite stare at their sneakers than give them the time of day.”
A minister added: “This method was used early on for high-profile figures and jobs had been provided however certainly my colleagues should now realise there are extra hopeful individuals than jobs?”
Different MPs who’re supporting the previous chancellor stated they’d not acquired any contact from Truss’s marketing campaign. “I assume they only suppose I’m too pro-Rishi so it’s not even well worth the effort,” one stated.
One other added: “No person has tried to name me however then I’m not a senior Tory and doubtless on a listing marked ‘not for turning’.”
The suggestion that there could possibly be extra defections has gone down badly with Sunak’s marketing campaign crew. One insider stated: “Those that change are doing it purely for their very own careers and it’s spineless. Nobody forgets a switcher and it tends to finish badly for them.”
Tory MPs additionally advised the Guardian that some Sunak-backing backbench colleagues had now endorsed Truss after being threatened with deselection by constituency events which can be supporting the international secretary.
Fullbrook is an elections marketing consultant who was beforehand the enterprise companion of veteran Australian strategist Lynton Crosby, however now runs his personal enterprise.
Famend for his information of the Tory celebration and its members, he first labored with the Conservatives in 1992, and helped run Johnson’s 2012 re-election as London mayor.
Fullbrook was additionally carefully concerned in Zac Goldsmith’s failed bid for London mayoralty in 2016, a marketing campaign that was criticised for utilizing racist tropes in opposition to the winner, Labour’s Sadiq Khan.
It got here as polling skilled Sir John Curtice stated that neither of the 2 management candidates had been seemingly to provide the Tory celebration the “bounce” it acquired when Boris Johnson grew to become prime minister.
“Frankly, the polling doesn’t counsel that whichever of them makes it will make that a lot distinction by itself. The essential query might be how they do the job,” he advised Occasions Radio.
“It’s not clear that both of them goes to ship the Conservative celebration throughout the UK the type of bounce in fortunes that actually occurred after Mr Johnson grew to become prime minister.”
