After announcing her bid to become PM, Penny Mordaunt expressed hope she could take on Britain’s top job with what she termed a “keep calm and carry on” approach.
On Friday, Ms Mordaunt officially threw her hat into the ring, to little surprise from political commentators. In a post on social media, she said she wanted a “fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest”.
The MP was a little known figure outside Westminster before the start of the year, but grew in standing after finishing third behind Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in the race to succeed Boris Johnson.
Following the result, she opted to back Ms Truss and was rewarded with a role in the new UK Cabinet, taking up the reins as Commons leader.
She also raised eyebrows with her choice of words while answering a question on Ms Truss’s behalf days before her downfall, as she told MPs that “the prime minister is not under a desk” dodging scrutiny, and then dismissed suggestions there had been a “coup” to remove her boss.
Asked in the chamber before Ms Truss’s resignation on the state of the government, Ms Mordaunt said: “I am going to keep calm and carry on — and I would suggest everyone else do the same.”
Ms Mordaunt, 49, a former Royal Navy reservist who has held several senior ministerial roles, is not among the front-runners to succeed Ms Truss, according to recent polls of Tory party members.
But such contests are notoriously unpredictable, and with a range of politicians from different factions of the ruling party possibly set to run, political commentators say few contenders can be discounted.
She will inevitably be tied to the Truss premiership to some extent, as she served in the Cabinet during the PM’s tumultuous time in office.