UK Tory leader race to replace Boris Johnson expands to nine

Former UK defence secretary Penny Mordaunt on Sunday became the ninth Conservative MP to launch a bid to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as the already fractious race promptly focused on tax. Mordaunt, 49, an ex-navy reservist who has also held several senior ministerial roles, is not among the frontrunners to succeed Johnson in recent polls of Tory party members ultimately set to choose their new leader. But such contests are notoriously unpredictable, and with more than a dozen lawmakers from multiple factions of the ruling party potentially set to run, political commentators say few c…

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