{"id":125910,"date":"2024-03-22T21:13:20","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T21:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/03\/22\/penny-mordaunt-rubbishes-talk-of-challenging-sunak\/"},"modified":"2024-03-22T21:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T21:13:20","slug":"penny-mordaunt-rubbishes-talk-of-challenging-sunak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/03\/22\/penny-mordaunt-rubbishes-talk-of-challenging-sunak\/","title":{"rendered":"Penny Mordaunt rubbishes talk of challenging Sunak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Penny Mordaunt has said talk of her challenging Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s leadership is “nonsense”.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Leader of the House told BBC Politics South that she was “focussed on doing her current job” and called the speculation “bollocks”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It comes after reports of frustration among Conservative MPs with Mr Sunak ahead of a potential general election later this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Mordaunt has twice unsuccessfully stood for the party’s leadership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But, addressing the current speculation, she said: “This is nonsense, although that’s not the adjective I used in the green room, and I think the public are fed up of this story.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Asked if she had now missed her chance to be prime minister she replied: “I have put my hat in the ring, and I’m not Prime Minister. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m leader of the House of Commons. I’m doing my job and encouraging others to get on with theirs.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said: “Rishi Sunak does pass the battle bus test, he does, and he is out and about probably more than any other prime minister I have known. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He’s doing a lot of visits. He’s in full campaign mode now.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Mordaunt previously came third in the leadership contest won by Liz Truss in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She also dismissed the suggestion that she could not be prime minister because her Portsmouth North Constituency was not a safe seat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Mordaunt said she had “consistently increased her vote share, and never took any vote for granted”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She added that should Mr Sunak visit Portsmouth during the election campaign “there is a slight issue that he’s a Southampton supporter, but we’re a polite bunch so I think he’d be welcome”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC South on Facebook, X<\/a>, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n