By Ben Kerrigan-
Penny Mordaunt is facing attacks from Liz Truss as her supporters launch a fierce attack Mordaunt, as they fight to stay in the race to succeed Boris Johnson.
Former Brexit Minister Lord Frost said Ms Mordaunt did not “master detail” and ex-party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith questioned her level of experience.
Ms Mordaunt is currently leading the race to become Britain’s next leader, and insists she was ready to become PM. Meanwhile, her enemies have criticised Ms Mordaunt distancing herself from identifying trans women as women. This point alone is being used to present her as one not sensitive to the complex issues of trans women.
There is a growing feeling that people should be treated as man or woman according to their feelings and open declarations, rather than subject them to discomfort by assessing them according to their biological make up. Thousands of people each year.
Gender self identification has been one of the moral and civil rights battles of this generation, but the objections to this new age movement in many circles has led to much conflict. The right to freedom of opinion has not made life any easier for those who believe a man should be seen as a man and a woman should be seen as a woman, and not try and be another gender.
As much as this ignores the psychological issues underlying individuals who feel they were born to be a different gender and have been born into a different body, it can be a complicated topic prone to an endless debate.
Mordaunt’s rivals have brought their knives out, but she is still ahead in the polls.
Ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak came first in Thursday’s second round of voting, with Ms Mordaunt second and Ms Truss third.
Eliminated candidate, Attorney-General Suella Braverman, gave her full support to Ms Truss.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Frost urged former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who came fourth in Thursday’s vote by MPs, to leave the race and throw her support behind Ms Truss “in return for a serious job” in government.
But Ms Badenoch’s campaign said she had “no intention of stepping down” and was “in it to win”.
The Conservative Home website is holding a hustings event involving all the candidates from 13:00 BST.
Lord Frost attacked Ms Mordaunt, who once served under him, telling Talk TV that she “did not master the detail that was necessary” and had been “absent on parade” during Brexit negotiations with the EU.
Sir Iain questioned Trade Minister Ms Mordaunt’s suitability to be prime minister, telling LBC: “We can’t just elect somebody because for a short period of time they may look better than others.
“What we’re actually electing is not, in a way, a popularity contest.”
And, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said Ms Truss’s record in office demonstrated “her character and her grit”.
Despite the name, Lord Frost has turned up the temperature in the leadership race.
Initially allies of Liz Truss, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, were gunning for Rishi Sunak, dubbing him the “high-tax chancellor”..
Lord Frost has offered fourth-placed candidate Kemi Badenoch a deal – “a serious job” – if she drops out and backs Ms Truss.