Penny Mordaunt in line for major promotion – ‘dark horse’ MP sparks Tory leadership frenzy

The Trade Minister is believed to be in for a shot of leader of the Tories after her odds were slashed over the weekend, according to Ladbrokes.

The bookies reported that her odds of replacing Mr Johnson were 14/1 last week, but after a flurry of bets over the weekend, Ms Mordaunt’s odds have been slashed to just 10/1.

This puts her closely behind other possible candidates Jeremy Hunt (8/1), Tom Tugendhat (7/1) and Liz Truss (6/1).

Chancellor Rishi Sunak continues to be in the top spot with 6/4 odds of taking over the PM’s role.

However, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt has been described as a “dark horse” in the political race, according to PoliticsHome.

Ms Mordaunt is MP for Portsmouth North and has previously held the post of Defence Secretary, and now the role of Trade Minister.

She is also believed to be “well-liked well-liked among so-called Red Wall MPs elected at the 2019 general election, many of whom are anxious about losing their recently acquired seats over the ongoing Downing Street parties scandal”, according to the political news site.

Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati told FreeTips.com: “The race is well and truly on among the Tories to replace seemingly exit-bound Boris Johnson.

“And with plenty of punters considering Penny Mordaunt something of a dark horse, our traders have subsequently slashed her odds to just 10/1 over the weekend.”

Odds state Boris Johnson has a 4/11 chance of being replaced as Prime Minister this year.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson’s resignation plan exposed: ‘Has a clear plan’

During his bid to defend himself, he falsely accused his opposition Keir Starmer of being responsible for the failure to prosecute disgraced paedophile Jimmy Savile during his time working as director of public prosecutions.

An official report published at the time showed that Sir Kier Starmer had no part to play in the decision not to prosecute Jimmy Savile before his death.

This prompted his long-loyal adviser and director of policy Munira Mirza to resign telling the PM “you have let yourself down”.

The latest Ladbrokes odds state Boris Johnson will be ousted out of government this year (4/11), in 2023 (6/1), 2024 or later (7/2).