Rishi Sunak has vowed to repeal hundreds of remaining EU laws and regulations if he wins the Tory leadership contest, while Penny Mordaunt’s views on trans rights are under scrutiny.
In a renewed effort to win over Brexiteers, the former chancellor pledged to appoint a Brexit minister to review the remaining 2,400 EU laws in the UK statute book.
He even promised a “Big Bang 2.0” for the City if the remaining EU financial services regulations are rewritten.
It comes as the final five candidates for the leadership prepare for a second televised debate on ITV on Sunday evening.
In a statement outlining his proposals, Mr. Sunak emphasized that he had always supported Brexit, despite being warned it could harm his political career because it was “the right thing” for the nation.
Mr. Sunak topped the first two rounds of voting by MPs, but he still lacks the 120 votes necessary to secure a spot in the final two.
In the meantime, rival leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt is under scrutiny for her position on gender self-identification, as leaked government documents suggest she supported weakening the legal process for transitioning.
According to documents drafted by civil servants and viewed by the Sunday Times, she supported eliminating at least one of the medical requirements.
A spokesman for her campaign responded: “The fact that so much of this contest has been diverted by irrelevant issues rather than the cost of living crisis that affects millions of people is extremely disappointing.
“Policy debate is one thing, but it is unacceptable to question Penny’s values and integrity.
“On the issue of self-identification, leaked documents demonstrate that all ministers in the department, including Penny, wanted to maintain medical involvement. Other ministers can support this claim.”
The former defense minister is also accused of accepting £20,000 from a trustee of a climate-skeptic lobbying organization.
The Sunday People reports that Ms. Mordaunt accepted two £10,000 donations from a business owned by tycoon Terence Mordaunt, a trustee of the Global Warming Policy Foundation.
In what must have been a difficult few days for Ms. Mordaunt since the first televised debate, her polling lead among Conservative members has evaporated.
Kemi Badenoch leads in a recent ConservativeHome poll of Tory party members with 31 percent of those polled, a clear margin over second-placed Liz Truss on 20 percent.
Following Ms. Mordaunt, who has fallen from first to the second position, are former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Tom Tugendhat?
Kemi Badenoch has pledged to do “everything it takes to deal with the small boat issue” as she places immigration restrictions at the center of her Tory leadership bid.
She stated in The Sunday Times, “People recognize that building more homes while doing little to reduce immigration is like rushing up the down escalator.”
Away from the leadership race, cabinet minister Alok Sharma has vowed to resign if the next prime minister does not support a strong net-zero agenda.
Mr. Sharma, who headed the Cop26 UN climate summit last year, told The Observer that while it was “clearly a leadership issue,” some of the other Tory leadership hopefuls have been “lukewarm.”
