Mordaunt, who was beaten by Truss to challenge Rishi Sunak in the final stage of the Conservative leadership race, said Truss was “the candidate of hope”. “Watching her over the last few weeks has made me want to help her, help her win, build the team we need to win the country and give ourselves as a party and as a nation the pride and confidence that we need to reach our full potential,” said the MP for North Portsmouth. The endorsement will be a major blow for Sunak after a bitter campaign in which Mordaunt’s supporters blamed Truss for a damaging “blue-for-blue dogfight” that saw Mordaunt fall in the final round of MPs’ voting. The foreign minister has announced a number of other high-profile endorsements in recent days – including leadership candidates Nadhim Zahawi and Tom Tugendhat. Introducing Truss at the most recent leadership meetings in Exeter, Mordaunt said: “I could have gone unannounced, I could be drinking piña coladas right now, but I’m not because this is very important and I’m not going to let it go. “Who can lead? Who can make this team and deliver for our country? Who has the bold economic plan our nation needs? Who has arrived? Who can relate to people? Who understands that people need help with the cost of living now? And who will fight our opponents right? “Who will hold seats and win back councils and who best embodies the vision and values the British public had in their heads and hearts when they voted in 2016 and 2019? “At the start of this final phase of this competition, I didn’t know the answer to these questions, but I’ve seen enough to know who to trust – and that’s Liz Truss. “ Truss, in her opening speech, said of Mordaunt: “She’s a great person, she’s a great politician, she’s a great patriot and I’m proud to call her my friend.” In an event that was decidedly less heated than previous meetings between the two rivals, the only recipient of any real anger was Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon. Referring to her Paisley upbringing, Truss called the First Minister “attention-seeking”, saying: “I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is to ignore her.” When asked about another Scottish independence referendum if she wins the keys to Downing Street, Truss simply replied: “No, no, no.” Both candidates were asked about the most embarrassing moments of their lives: while Truss declined to answer because “her daughters will be watching,” Sunak took the opportunity for a little self-deprecation: “Recently some of you may have seen that I’ve been struggling to pay for gas in a car that wasn’t mine, so let’s go, I won’t make that mistake again.”
