Rishi Sunak already has the support of more than half of Conservative MPs

MADRID, 24 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak already has the support of more than half of the Conservative Party MPs in the House of Commons, a symbolic threshold that confirms his clear favoritism over Penny Mordaunt, who remains officially in the race for Downing Street.

Sunak and Mordaunt are the two official candidates to succeed Liz Truss as head of the Government, after former Prime Minister Boris Johnson took a step back on Sunday. To have options, they must gather at least a hundred endorsements from deputies.

Sunak already has more than 170 supporters, according to the BBC count, which gives Mordaunt just 26. One of the deputy's main defenders, Andrea Leadsom, does not give up the battle and trusts that Mordaunt can drag the great majority of those who initially advocated Johnson's return to power.

Other deputies, on the other hand, have urged Mordaunt to accept that he has no options and avoid broader primaries that would further erode the image of the Conservative Party, which already shows minimal levels of support in all the polls. A hypothetical withdrawal of this pre-candidate would allow the 'Tories' to proclaim Sunak as 'de facto' leader this Monday.