‘Prancing pony’ rivals position themselves against Boris Johnson

As ministers distance themselves from the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are blasted for suspiciously late messages of support.

Rishi Sunak may be positioning himself to take over from Boris Johnson. Picture: AFP.

When Rishi Sunak eventually broke his silence, his message was brief and circumspect. “I’ve been on a visit all day today continuing to work on our #PlanForJobs as well as meeting MPs to discuss the energy situation,” he said on Twitter at 8.14pm on Wednesday.

“The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry.”

The brevity of his message and its timing - more than eight hours after Boris Johnson had stood up in the Commons for his “heartfelt” apology at prime minister’s questions - aroused suspicion.

Some cabinet ministers saw it as further evidence that Sunak is positioning himself to take over should the prime minister be forced to resign over allegations of lockdown parties in No 10.

The fact that Sunak was on a planned visit only made matters worse. “He’s a prancing pony - it’s completely unacceptable,” one minister said. “He, and everyone in the cabinet, should be rowing in fully behind the prime minister. It’s pretty overt.”

The comments were echoed by another cabinet minister, who was equally scathing about Liz Truss, the foreign secretary. Widely seen as another potential leadership candidate, she waited even longer - until 9.14pm - to come forward with a show of support, although allies pointed out that she was seated next to the prime minister as he made his statement.

“It’s obvious game-playing,” the cabinet minister said. “Rishi and Liz have overplayed their hands. They have lost the subtlety plot.”

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss attends a meeting with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovi. Picture; AFP.

The minister said that the positioning was part of a wider trend, highlighting a recent critical cabinet meeting before Christmas where Johnson decided against new coronavirus restrictions. Both Truss and Sunak were relatively quiet at the meeting, the minister said, suggesting it was a deliberate attempt to distance themselves from the decision should Johnson’s gamble fail.

A source close to Sunak said the claims were “nonsense”, adding that he had simply been “back to back” on Wednesday. They said that after returning to London on Wednesday afternoon Sunak held a two-hour meeting with Johnson to discuss issues including the cost of living, particularly energy bills, and the levelling-up strategy.

When the meeting ended shortly after 7pm Sunak went straight to the Commons for a meeting with 30 Tory MPs to discuss their concerns. He approved the tweet for publishing shortly after emerging from the talks.

However, an ally of Sunak conceded that the tweet was carefully worded. “There’s a high probability that there’s more to come,” the ally said. “He [Sunak] quite reasonably doesn’t want to be associated with that. He wants to be loyal but within the parameters of his conscience.”

Boris Johnson was attacked over the Downing St parties during Prime Minister’s Questions. Picture: AFP.

The chancellor, the ally suggested, wanted to avoid tainting himself by exonerating the prime minister in case the inquiry by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, castigates him for involvement in Downing Street parties.

Another ally who has spoken to Sunak in recent days said: “It would have been wrong to come out and say, ‘There’s nothing to see here’. They are serious allegations and they need to be investigated.”

The source close to Sunak pointed out that his tweet was very similar to one by Stephen Barclay, minister for the Cabinet Office, and another by Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary. Another cabinet minister added: “His view is that he does not want to be the person who is agitating to bring the PM down.”

Friends of Sunak say, however, that he does harbour long-term leadership ambitions. “He wants it,” one said. “I’m just not sure now’s the time.”

Another Conservative MP and ally said: “There’s a time and a place to throw your hat into the ring but there’s no ring at the moment. There’s a very good chance the prime minister gets through this.”

A cabinet minister who is supportive of Sunak added: “Rishi is naturally a very cautious person and always has been. You don’t see Rishi making exaggerated statements. It’s not his style.

“Could you point to a chancellor in the last 150 years who does not have aspirations for the leadership? Chancellors have the greatest chance of becoming leader if they are in a successful combination with the leader.”

Allies point out that at present Sunak lacks the basic infrastructure - and the support base among MPs - for a run at the leadership.

“I’m certain he wants to be leader,” one said. “But what he’s not doing is setting up a team and campaigning for it. He’s got his spads but that’s about it. He does round tables with groups of 30 colleagues at a time but that’s about government policy. He is focused on doing his job.”

If Sunak’s tweet appeared to be an attempt to distance himself from Johnson, other ministers now appear to be at pains to distance themselves from him. Asked if like Sunak she was reserving judgment on Johnson’s future, Priti Patel, the home secretary, told Sky News last night: “No! On the contrary. I have publicly supported the prime minister.”

The Times