Nadhim Zahawi declares candidacy for Tory leadership to replace Boris Johnson

Newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has entered the Tory leadership race to replace Boris Johnson.

He is the second Cabinet Minister to declare his ambition in the space of an hour after Grant Shapps' transport announcement he intended to stand on a platform of improving the economy and tackling the cost of living crisis.

Mr. Zahawi, who was named to replace Rishi Sunak after his resignation on Tuesday, said he would focus on lowering taxes for individuals, families and businesses.

He also pledged to increase defense spending and continue the education reforms he began in his previous role.

In addition to Mr. Zahawi, Mr. Shapps, Mr. Sunak and Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat have launched their own offers, and Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt are expected to launch imminent campaigns in the coming days.

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In his bid to become leader, Mr. Zahawi said: "My objective is simple: to provide the opportunities that have been presented to my generation, to all Britons, whoever you are and wherever you come from. To stabilize the ship and stabilize the economy.

“Thanks to Brexit, we are now a free nation. Let's not just talk about the opportunities that ensue, let's seize them.

"If a young boy, who came here at the age of 11 without a word of English, can serve the most high levels of Her Majesty's Government and running to be the next Prime Minister, anything is possible."

He added that he wants to "focus on letting kids be kids, protecting them from harmful and inappropriate nonsense forced upon them by radical activists."< /p>

Mr. Zahawi received massive applause for the rapid deployment of Covid-19 vaccines in the UK and was quickly promoted to Education Secretary by Boris Johnson.

He is one of the Cabinet Ministers who did not step down last week and were instead promoted to chancellor by Mr Johnson following Mr Sunak's resignation.

However, Mr Zahawi's bid for the leadership comes as The Independent can exclusively reveal that his tax affairs are under investigation by HMRC.

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Michelle Donelan, who resigned as Education Secretary on Thursday - less than 36 hours after accepting it, said she was backing Nadhim Zahawi to be the next Tory leader.

In a tweet, she said, "I worked with Nadhim Zahawi at Department of Education and around the cabinet table for the past 10 months I support it to be our next Premier mini stre because he gets things done and keeps his promises, just like he did as Minister of Vaccines. »