Penny Mordaunt: Portsmouth North MP becomes the first to officially enter the race to become prime minister

Ms Mordaunt tweeted at 3.33pm on Friday afternoon: ‘I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest.

‘I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your Prime Minister – to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next GE. #PM4PM’

Ms Mordaunt was at one point considered a front-runner during the party’s last leadership contest after Boris Johnson resigned in disgrace, but ended up coming third.

Liz Truss went on to beat Rishi Sunak in the vote by party members.

But the region’s Conservatives have been speaking out to back Ms Mordaunt’s bid.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage swiftly came out in support, tweeting: ‘The Conservative Party we have seen recently does not reflect the Party I’ve represented for 12 years & the manifesto I stood on. We need a leader with the experience, strength & integrity to unite us & restore faith across the country. That person is Penny Mordaunt.’

And Cllr Sean Woodward, Conservative leader of Fareham Borough Council said: ‘I’m pleased to see it. I supported her last time, although I never got to vote for her because for some bizarre reason the other MPs didn’t let her on the ballot for the final two, even though she’d been leading for large parts of the race.

‘The rest, as they say, has been the most unedifying episode in our party’s history.’

Mrs Truss stepped down on Thursday as prime minister after just 44 days in the top job, following a litany of political disasters including the sacking and resignation of her chancellor and home secretary, respectively, in quick succession and numerous U-turns, including on the majority of the mini-budget.

After she was edged out of the last leadership race, Ms Mordaunt opted to back Ms Truss, and was rewarded with a role in the new cabinet, taking up the reins as commons leader.

Ms Mordaunt will inevitably be tied to the Truss premiership to some extent, as she served in the cabinet during the PM’s tumultuous premiership.

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However, she has hardly been conspicuous in her loyalty, making it clear she believed benefits should rise in line with inflation at the Tory conference earlier this month, despite Ms Truss repeatedly refusing to guarantee the boost.

She also raised eyebrows with her choice of words while answering an urgent question on Ms Truss’s behalf just days prior to her downfall, as she insisted to MPs that ‘the Prime Minister is not under a desk’ dodging scrutiny and denied there had been a ‘coup’ to remove her.

But it seems Ms Mordaunt is already facing an uphill battle if she is to win the race. Although she is the only officially declared candidate at the time of writing, according to political blogger Guido Fawkes, both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have many more Conservative MPs pledged to support them than the Portsmouth North MP does.