Monday 15 August 2022 10:34 PM Another Tory defects to Liz Truss' camp as Alun Cairns throws weight behind the ... trends now
A third Conservative MP has publicly switched from supporting Rishi Sunak to Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race.
Writing for The Mail+, former Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said he believed the Foreign Secretary is best placed to save the Union between England and the rest of the UK.
His defection provides a fresh boost for Miss Truss as the candidates prepare to take part in hustings in Scotland and Northern Ireland this week.
With just three weeks until the next prime minister is announced, she is the runaway favourite after building a commanding lead in opinion polls of Tory members.
Liz Truss (pictured) at the Conservative Party leadership election hustings at Cheltenham. The Foreign Secretary is the current favourite to win the election
Mr Cairns' decision to change sides will be seen as further confirmation that Miss Truss is on course to win.
He wrote: 'At the outset of the campaign, I met Rishi Sunak to discuss the future of the Union and was content with his responses. I chose to support him.
'However, as the campaign has developed, the risks to our Union have become more apparent.
'There is a need to break out of the current orthodoxy. The future of our Union depends on it.
'For this reason, I have concluded that with the positive ambition for our country and imagination she has shown, alongside her strong track record as a reformer, Liz Truss is best placed to secure our Union.'
Mr Cairns said he had seen Miss Truss reform three Whitehall departments 'impressively'.
He added: 'Reforming the culture across the whole of Whitehall to improve outcomes in all nations will be a greater challenge – but the prize of a stable and united Union will be worth it.
'With Liz, we will succeed and celebrate as one country.'
Miss Truss and Mr Sunak will take part in a hustings in Perth today before heading to Belfast tomorrow.
The defection of Mr Cairns – who served as Welsh Secretary for three years under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson – comes days after Sir Robert Buckland announced he was no longer endorsing Mr Sunak.
The current Welsh Secretary became the first Cabinet minister to publicly switch his support, writing in the Daily Telegraph that he had changed his mind over the course of the leadership campaign.
Ex-universities minister Chris Skidmore has also defected.
It came as veteran Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash announced he would be supporting Miss Truss.
The MP for Stone, who is chairman of the Commons European scrutiny
