Steerpike Steerpike

Ellwood’s endorsement backfires

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

It was all going so well for Rishi. With a hundred MPs in the bag, Sunak looks to be the only candidate who will cruise through to the final round on Monday unlike his struggling rivals. But has Tobias Ellwood managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory once again? The chairman of the defence select committee announced his endorsement for Sunak last night, declaring on Twitter that:

The free mkt experiment is over – it’s been a low point in our party’s great history. The reset begins. Time for centrist, stable, fiscally responsible government offering credible domestic and international leadership. Honoured to be the 100th Tory MP to support.

Such an endorsement could almost have been penned by Team Boris wanting to stoke conspiracy theories about Sunak’s lack of ‘soundness’ and ‘conviction.’ It seems someone from team Sunak has now pointed out to Ellwood that his endorsement might not have been the helpful intervention that he thought it was.

Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in