Matt Hancock has become the first leadership candidate to bow out of the race following the first secret ballot. In Thursday’s vote, Hancock came sixth – winning 20 votes. Announcing his decision, Hancock said he was ‘hugely grateful’ for the support he had received but had concluded now was not his time as the ‘party is understandably looking for a candidate for the unique circumstances we face right now’:
‘I have therefore decided to withdraw from this contest, and I will look for the best way to advance the values we fought for, of free enterprise, and an open, aspirational, free society, underpinned by an optimistic belief in the value of each individual person.’
With rumours swirling since Thursday afternoon that Hancock would quit the contest, there had been talk that he would endorse Sajid Javid. Javid held a meeting in Parliament with Hancock following the vote. However, in what is a blow to the Javid camp, Hancock used his statement to say he would continue talking to the other candidates before deciding who he would support.
So, how will this alter the leadership contest? On Thursday, Boris Johnson emerged as the clear favourite in the parliamentary party – winning 114 votes. Jeremy Hunt was in second place, but far behind with 43 votes. As Isabel reported on Coffee House, the Johnson campaign is highly organised and have a spreadsheet which is managed by Grant Shapps which has all the data and details of MPs likely to back Johnson – or who could consider it if their first preference candidate stood down. It follows that this group will already know which of Hancock’s supporters could be susceptible to Johnson’s charms. One Hancock supporter says they have been besieged by Johnson approaches yet have barely heard from his rival Jeremy Hunt. Although Hancock and Johnson’s leadership pitches are rather different (Hancock is wary of a no-deal Brexit), the fact Johnson is so far ahead could tempt MPs to now switch to what looks like the winning team.
The problem for the Cabinet candidates is that there is no clear favourite to rally behind. Although Hunt was the leading Cabinet member in the vote on Thursday, Michael Gove was a mere six votes behind him. Meanwhile Sajid Javid managed 23 votes – yet his campaign believe they should hold firm as they are gaining momentum after a slow launch.
As for Hancock himself, don’t be surprised if you see him running for the leadership again. As I say in this week’s Spectator, gallows humour has broken out between various campaign teams. The message? They’ll meet again in November for the next leadership contest. ‘We’re using this as a test run for when the whole thing collapses in the autumn,’ says one aide.
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