Path to UK PM: Sunak leads MP support, halfway to threshold

Rishi Sunak, who lost the last Conservative leadership race in a runoff against Liz Truss, has gained the most public support of Members of Parliament to replace her as Tory leader, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from public statements.

Sunak has the backing of 52 MPs, compared with 16 MPs for Penny Mordaunt. His lead, however, is slimmer against the wildcard Boris Johnson, who was ousted from the premiership in July and left office September 6. The former Prime Minister has accrued support of 28 MPs. None of the three top candidates have publicly declared they are standing.

Race for 100 Backers
Tory leadership hopefuls are vying for enough nominations

Under rules announced on Thursday, a maximum of three Tory MPs will be able to run, as the party has set a threshold of 100 MPs for candidates to even get on the ballot paper, and there are a total of 357 MPs in the party. Sunak is now more than halfway towards that threshold. 

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Bloomberg, and is published by special syndication arrangement.