Penny Mordaunt would be best Tory leader, say councillors

Penny Mordaunt would make the best leader of the Conservative Party, Tory councillors have said.

The Commons Leader, who was recently named as the preferred candidate among Right-wing MPs plotting to oust the Prime Minister, has now emerged as the most popular figure in a survey of 391 Conservative councillors.

The poll, conducted by Savanta, asked Tory councillors in England, Scotland and Wales to select their preferred candidate from a shortlist of six.

Ms Mordaunt was the most popular, with 30 per cent of councillors selecting her when asked: “Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Conservative party?”

Rishi Sunak came second, with 23 per cent of councillors selecting him, and in third place came Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader who is currently honorary president of Reform UK, with 13 per cent of the vote.

He was followed by Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, with 11 per cent of the vote. James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, and Suella Braverman, his predecessor, both received three per cent.

The research was commissioned by Labour Together, a Left-wing think-tank that is contributing to Labour’s election strategy.

Ms Mordaunt has often been touted as a likely successor to the Prime Minister and topped the most recent ConservativeHome Cabinet League Table, which measures the popularity of the Tories’ top team.

A recent meeting is understood to have taken place between leading figures on the Right of the Tory parliamentary party and prominent supporters of Ms Mordaunt from when she previously ran for the leadership in July and October 2022.

Last week, The Telegraph revealed that Ms Mordaunt has made 40 trips to Tory association events across the UK since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister, travelling north to Glasgow, Bolton, the Ribble Valley and Altrincham, and west to Anglesey, Brecon and Somerset, as well as to many spots in the Home Counties closer to Parliament.

Members of Ms Mordaunt’s team have previously dismissed talk that she is on manoeuvres, saying: “Cabinet ministers are actively encouraged to support the campaign effort. Penny’s a popular campaigner and an effective fundraiser, who likes to show support for Conservative candidates up and down the country.”

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta said the survey results will be a cause for concern for the Conservative Party, particularly ahead of the local elections in May.

Grassroots desire

“Councillor polling has generally proved to be quite a good proxy for the membership in the past when it has come to leadership elections,” he said.

“I think there is clearly some level of grassroots desire for a change here shown by the fact that Sunak is the incumbent but less than a quarter of Tory councillors say he would make the best leader among this list.

“They will still go out and knock on doors, but this sort of thing does have an impact on the mood of the grassroots.”

As part of the Savanta polling, Conservative councillors were also asked who they would prefer to have as party leader out of Mr Sunak and Mr Farage.

Overall, a majority (55 per cent) backed Mr Sunak, with just under a third (31 per cent) opting for Mr Farage and 14 per cent saying they did not know.

Among those who backed Liz Truss in the 2022 summer leadership contest, 47 per cent said they prefer Mr Farage versus just 32 per cent opting for Mr Sunak.

Meanwhile, of those who backed Mr Sunak’s leadership campaign against Ms Truss, 13 per cent said they would now rather have Mr Farage leading the Conservatives.

Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, said: “If the rumours are true that Penny Mordaunt is being set up to fail by those on the Right of the party, the plotters should be careful what they wish for.

“The message from this polling is clear – Penny is the preferred choice for party leader among the Tory grassroots. But with the local elections just six weeks away, Rishi Sunak will be hoping that a strong performance from the Conservatives can stave off the speculation. Anything less, and he may well find his already precarious position at serious risk.”