Penny Mordaunt

Boris Johnson's future hangs in the balance once more as Conservative Party MPs prepare for a vote of confidence in their leader. Graham Brady, chair of the ...

“She is a woman of deep integrity and principle, who has won the trust and respect of MPs right across the house. The same Conservative Party member told PinkNews that Hunt has “genuinely been on a journey of understanding” when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. Mordaunt has made a name for herself as one of the most progressive Tories when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. The deputy prime minister has spoken out against much-needed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) that would make it easier for trans people to have their gender legally recognised. With the next general election due in just over two years, Tories will be thinking about who can help them retain Number 10. Tellingly, some Tory MPs are defending him to the hilt. Truss has done nothing to curry favour with the UK’s LGBTQ+ community since she became equalities minister, but that doesn’t mean she’s always been opposed to LGBTQ+ rights. Like many of his fellow Tories, he voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 2013. Much like Truss, Raab has generally voted in favour of advancing gay, lesbian and bisexual rights. Some of the frontrunners who have been tipped as a potential next Tory leader include Liz Truss, Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Ben Wallace, Penny Mordaunt and Sajid Javid. Recently, Downing Street announced it was scrapping plans to ban conversion therapy for trans people – an issue Truss’ office had led on. Results of the vote will be announced after 8pm.

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The source said: “She is denied any profile, partly because of No 10. Ms Mordaunt was also a key figure in the Leave campaign in 2016 and throughout the Brexit negotiations she was the UK alternate co-chair of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. Ms Mordaunt is also well known for her appearance on reality TV show Splash!, which saw her compete in a diving competition against celebrities including Gemma Collins from The Only Way Is Essex in 2014, and was widely ridiculed for it. She first stood as an MP in the 2005 general election, losing out to a Labour candidate. The minister read Philosophy at the University of Reading, graduating in 1995, and was the first member of her family to attend university. She currently serves in the Home Office as the Postmaster General, a ministerial position, and previously served in PM Theresa May’s Cabinet as International Development Secretary from 2017 to 2019, and Defence Secretary in 2019.

Ms Mordaunt, a trade minister and MP for Portsmouth North, did not explicitly say how she would vote during tonight's secret ballot.

But the vote has already seen the PM suffering political body blows. He said the PM had failed to address the Sue Gray report’s ‘very serious criticisms’ of the leadership at 10 Downing Street. Portsmouth South’s Labour MP Stephen Morgan, said it was time for the PM to go.

Penny Mordaunt raises eyebrows with article praising the 'happy, humble, honest and hard-working' leadership of D-Day chief Eisenhower.

She returned to ministerial rank in 2020 and is currently a trade minister. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. Confidence without competence is a dangerous combination.” But his team had confidence in him because he was competent as a leader. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.