The Foreign Secretary now has senior MPs fighting his corner.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been cut to 7/2 second in the market for the Conservative Party leadership after formally launching his campaign earlier today.
Hunt received two notable endorsements at his campaign launch. First former Home Secretary Amber Rudd declared her support for the “best man for the job” and then popular Brexiteer Penny Mordaunt announced she would be backing the Foreign Secretary too.
Bookmakers leapt to attention after that news, some halving odds on Hunt from 8/1 to 4/1 and others going as short as 7/2.
There’s been no hesitation from punters either with money pouring in for the MP for South West Surrey. He’s received 26% of bets on the market today, ahead of the 16% going on Boris Johnson.
The common ground among the leadership contenders so far has been to take shots at odds-on favourite Boris Johnson (4/6). The former Foreign Secretary was criticised by Matt Hancock as well as Hunt and his ally Rudd.
Michael Gove’s hopes look to have been dashed after revelations about his past drug use, he’s now priced at 22/1 having been as short as 7/2 under a fortnight ago.
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek: “Commentators have rightly noted the significance of these endorsements today. Rudd and Mordaunt could have had a shot at the leadership themselves, but have backed the Foreign Secretary instead.
“Hunt was met with an enthusiastic reception at his campaign launch and it’s no surprise to see him gathering plenty of momentum in the market as his rivals continue to suffer setbacks.”
