Sunak reportedly finalising plans for a leadership campaign

According to reports in The Independent, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is finalising plans an upcoming leadership campaign. With Mr Sunak telling colleagues that he believes the “Partygate” scandal could be “unsurvivable” for the PM, a draft version of a campaign website is said to already be built.

However, the imminent publication of Sue Gray’s report is expected to have less impact after the Met Police announced an investigation into Downing Street gatherings. 

A source told The Independent that this involvement may put the brakes on Mr Sunak’s plans but they added: “there’s no question that Rishi and his team have got everything in place”.

“He’s built a data dashboard … Every click and share will be informing the wider leadership campaign. He’s got form on watching for any online grassroot sentiment to tap into”, they said.

A twitter account called “Ready for Rishi” appeared in September 2020. Its latest tweet, posted on 27 January and pinned to the top of its profile, reads: “Time for a leader who doesn’t break the rules #readyforrishi”.