Rishi Sunak's key supporters in the campaign to become the UK's next Prime Minister

Some prominent Tory politicians have announced their support for Rishi Sunak, the former UK chancellor who was first elected MP in 2015. (Source: Reuters)

In the hour before Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, had to announce the final two candidates from among Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, I saw two of them in Westminster.

Penny Mordaunt accompanied by her close ally and former MP Andrea Leadsom passed through the central lobby. As usual, she was in a suit. It was not the gait of a winner.

Liz Truss was shooting what looked like a promotional video on the lawns of Westminster, the part not accessible to the public, in a striking green dress. She was surrounded by at least six young aides and had the confidence of a winner.

I didn’t spot Rishi Sunak, but I did see a few youngsters pacing around bearing badges proclaiming support for him.

Also read: All you need to know about Indian-origin Rishi Sunak

Moments later Sir Graham announced that Sunak and Truss would be fighting it out for 10 Downing Street with the winning candidate to be decided by the Tory party members. Even though Sunak consistently secured a high number of votes from the Tory MPs, polls suggest that Truss has the upper hand among the approximately 200,000 Tory members with an average age of over 50 and the majority residing in Southern England who will cast their ballot over the summer. The results will be out on September 5, 2022.

Truss says Sunak is soft on China, and Sunak has harped on Truss voting for Remain (Brexit). There is also a difference in the approach towards taxation and public finance.

Here are some of the prominent Tory politicians who have announced their support for the former chancellor, who was first elected MP in 2015 and in just seven years is in the race to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Dominic Raab: By virtue of being the deputy Prime Minister, he is one of the most high-profile members of the Boris Johnson cabinet to announce support for Sunak. It was Raab who introduced Sunak at his candidacy launch event. Raab maintains that only Sunak could win a general election, thus adding immense gravitas to his candidature. “Rishi’s values are our values.”

Grant Shapps: The transport secretary was expected to take part in the leadership challenge but pulled out of the race to support Sunak. Along with Raab, Shapps too was at the launch of Sunak’s campaign on July 12. He also countered allegations that Sunak’s campaign was indulging in dirty tricks.

Andrew Bridgen: A very influential backbencher who is articulate and outspoken. He has been a fierce critic of Johnson, and has regularly spoken about the good of the party, so his support helps position Sunak favourably among the Tory members.

Rami Ranger: A successful businessman who was appointed to the House of Lords in 2019. He is the joint chairman of the Conservative Friends of India and is vocal on India-UK relationship. In the last few days, Ranger has come out in strong support of Sunak in the leadership race.

Shailesh Vara: He defended Boris Johnson during the partygate scandal and was made the Northern Ireland secretary when he faced a deluge of resignations. He is considered close to Johnson, but his appearance in Sunak’s leadership meeting reveals that he prefers him to replace Johnson. Vara was previously Minister of State for Northern Ireland in 2018. He has been an MP for over 15 years for North West Cambridgeshire.

Ruth Davidson: A leading face of the Conservative party in Scotland, she was the leader of the Scottish Conservative party from 2011 to 2019 and is now a member of the House of Lords. Davidson was one of the earliest Tory leaders to call for Boris Johnson’s resignation over the Partygate scandal. She has described supporting Liz Truss as taking a gamble. In the 2019 Tory leadership election her preferred candidates went on being eliminated till Johnson won the race. That’s not what Sunak would want.

William Hague: It was the former foreign secretary’s constituency which is now represented by Sunak. Hague was the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, from 1989 to 2015 after which he made way for Sunak. He has spoken about Sunak’s industriousness and capacity to work and now sits in the House of Lords.

Claire Coutinho: An upcoming star in the Conservative party, Coutinho’s career mirrors that of Sunak. Just like him, she attended private school and went to Oxford, before working in banking. She was a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at the Treasury and resigned in protest following the Pincher scandal. Since then she has been a vocal supporter of Sunak on social media. She was elected MP from the Conservative safe seat of East Surrey.