Mr Sunak is comfortably in the lead after securing 118 votes in Tuesday’s vote and is tipped to make it to the bottom two. Ms Mordaunt is currently in second place with 92 votes, followed by Ms Truss with 86.
Mr Stride, acting as campaign manager for the former chancellor, sent messages to the Team Rishi WhatsApp group urging supporters to play it straight when it came to voting.
“Mel Stride says we are not changing votes, stick to Rishi, don’t think of playing games by trading,” said one member of the WhatsApp group.
Meanwhile, supporters of Ms Mordaunt and Ms Truss are launching 11th-hour bids to try to win back MPs, even if they have already declared their support for Mr Sunak.
“Former ministers I haven’t spoken to in two years are saying, ‘Do you want to speak to Penny to discuss your priorities?’ But the answer is no,” one MP told The Telegraph. “They are targeting MPs who support Rishi and they are trying to use former cabinet ministers to try and turn people away.”
“The New Wets”
Members of Ms Truss’s campaign are telling those in Mr Sunack’s camp that they are being labeled the “new wets” – a pejorative term used for those on the more progressive side of the Tory party.
The term dates back to the 1980s, when members of the moderate wing of the Conservative Party who opposed some of Margaret Thatcher’s more hard-line policies were often called “wets” by opponents.
“Some on Liz’s side call Rishi’s supporters ‘the new wets.’ This is going very badly,” said one MP.
A source from Mr Sunak’s campaign said: “Every vote counts and we are focused on talking to MPs about why Rishi is the right candidate.”
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