Penny Mordaunt has become the first Conservative MP to officially announce she is standing to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and prime minister.
She was one of the less well-known candidates in the summer Tory leadership contest, but made it through to the final three.
In the first four ballots of Tory MPs in July, she came a clear second behind Rishi Sunak. She eventually lost out to Mr Sunak and Liz Truss in the last round, before Conservative members had the final say.
Her strong showing was rewarded when she was named Leader of the House of Commons by Ms Truss in her first day in office.
Since then, she has impressed colleagues at Westminster with a series of sure-footed appearances and her use of humour in the Commons, at a time when crisis was engulfing the government.
she had not even mustered a nod for Ms Truss during Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Mordaunt replied: “My resting face is that of a bulldog chewing a wasp, and people shouldn’t read too much into that.”
Ms Debbonaire also challenged her about comments she was reported to have made at the Conservative Party conference, that “our policy is great but our comms is shit”. The shadow leader suggested the government’s policies were “also shhh … shocking, too”.
Ms Mordaunt said she had been “playing to the crowd as I was addressing a room full of communication professionals” – and added, to cheers from Tory MPs: “It is the anti-growth coalition whose policies are shhh … shocking.”
Just days before Ms Truss announced she was quitting, the Commons leader fronted up for her, answering an urgent question tabled by Labour for the the prime minister.
She denied Ms Truss was dodging scrutiny or hiding “under a desk” by sending Ms Mordaunt to cover for her.
Meanwhile, Ms Mordaunt raised her profile with the wider public by leading the Accession Council ceremony of the new King at St James’s Palace, two days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her role as Lord President of the Privy Council meant she played a central part in the event – which was televised for the first time.
Opinion polls have suggested Ms Mordaunt is popular with Tory members, and she has put in the work on the so-called “rubber chicken” circuit of Tory fundraisers and charity dinners.
The 49-year-old Portsmouth North MP has been in and around government for the best part of a decade and even had a brief spell as a reality TV star.
She was a prominent backer of Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
The daughter of a paratrooper and a special needs teacher, she was born in Torquay but grew up in Portsmouth, and, like Ms Truss, was educated at a comprehensive school, before going to university.
Source: BBC