Contest to choose next Prime Minister is 'self-indulgent distraction' from cost of living crisis, Walsall MP says
Another Conservative leadership contest to elect the next Prime Minister is "yet another self-indulgent distraction from the cost of living crisis", a Labour MP has said.
The process was triggered after Liz Truss resigned from the top job after only 44 days in the role amid the fallout from the mini-budget which rocked financial markets.
It means a new Tory leader will be handed the keys to Number 10 – the fifth since the 2015 election – on Friday, after the process was quickened up by party grandees.
But Valerie Vaz, who represents Walsall South, said it was her constituents who were "suffering" the consequences as she reiterated Labour's calls for a general election.
She said: "The Conservative leadership contest is yet another self-indulgent distraction from the cost of living crisis. Walsall has the tenth highest level of fuel poverty in the country while the Conservatives are arguing amongst themselves. It is alarming that the country has its third Prime Minister in a year.
"It is my constituents who are suffering the consequences of the Government's disastrous economic policies. We need an immediate general election.”
The calls come as Boris Johnson returned to the UK in a plot to return as prime minister in a move which has divided opinion among many Conservative MPs, according to reports.
A number of MPs say he is the only person with a mandate from the public to lead the country – with Tory MP supporters in the region including Lichfield's Michael Fabricant, West Bromwich West's Shaun Bailey, Wolverhampton North East's Jane Stevenson, Dudley North's Marco Longhi, and Cannock Chase's Amanda Milling.
Meanwhile Nicola Richards, MP for West Bromwich East, has backed Penny Mordaunt who was the first candidate to officially declare for the race.
Dudley South MP Mike Wood has backed Rishi Sunak, who came second in the previous leadership election, alongside South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson.
A recent tally of public declarations has seen Mr Sunak leading the way on 87 declarations, ahead of Mr Johnson's 50 and Ms Mordaunt's 18 – with a threshold of 100.
Supporters of Mr Johnson believe that if he can make it to the last two, he will win in the final online ballot of party activists with whom he remains hugely popular.
Some MPs have warned they would resign the Tory whip and sit in the Commons as independents if Mr Johnson returns to Downing Street.
