Penny Mordaunt says more than 70 Tory association visits are designed to help the party

Mordaunt says her visits have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for candidates standing to become MPs or councillors. Photo: KIRSTIE WIGGLESWORTH/AP < p>The revelation has raised eyebrows over leadership ambitions: Penny Mordaunt has visited 40 Tory associations across the country since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister.

Now Ms Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, has written to The Telegraph with an urgent clarification: the real figure is actually more than 70.

In a letter published in today's newspaper, Ms Mordaunt defends the trips, claiming that they help prevent electoral threats. for the Labor Party at the next election.

She also notes that her visits have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for candidates standing for election as MP or councillor.

The response followed a report in the Saturday's Telegraph which listed 40 hits based on public postings on local association websites and social media.

Swords signed by Mordaunt fetch hundreds of pounds at constituency events

It revealed Ms Mordaunt, who made headlines for holding the state sword high above her head During the coronation of King Charles, she put up signed wooden swords for auction.

But tongues are unlikely to stop wagging at the news that she has in fact made more than 70 such trips since Mr Sunak became leader in October 2022.

This means Ms Mordaunt does not visit local Tory associations on average every 13 days, The Telegraph first calculated. , but actually more often every week.

Wags his tongue

Ms Mordaunt said in her letter: “I am writing to correct a couple of inaccuracies in the article: Mr Mordaunt has made 40 trips to Tory association events since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister on 22 March 2024.”

In fact, I have made over 70 such visits, not counting those made as a minister and any fundraising and campaigning organized by Conservative Central Office.

“I am delighted to have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for our future candidates, sitting MPs and local associations, and I intend to continue such visits in the coming weeks and months.

“I will be by their side, campaigning on the doorstep and lending my support to ensure these wonderful people get seats in Parliament.

“My motivation for this is simple — to support the campaign line. against the threat of a Labor government.

“If Labor returns to power, we can expect to see NATO undermined through the EU defense pact, decades of trade union reforms unraveled, our businesses destroyed by new bureaucratic red tape and rising taxation, the erosion of our educational standards, cuts to the NHS budget and all the nonsense and mismanagement so evident in Wales and London that will increasingly harm the British people.»

Leader of the House of Commons is seen as one of the frontrunners if Tory MPs try to replace Mr Sunak before the election, but Number 10 insiders dismiss this as idle speculation.

Ms Mordaunt's team has consistently waved it off. such ideas, insisting she remains committed to Mr Sunak and the government she serves.