Oxfordshire Conservatives have been forced to make a U-turn after the candidates they backed have fallen out of the race leadership race.

Witney and West Oxfordshire MP Robert Courts announced today (July 13) that he was supporting a new candidate for Conservative Party Leader, after his boss Grant Shapps pulled out of the race.

David Johnston, MP for Wantage and Didcot, will now be forced to choose a new candidate after his choice Nadhim Zahawi failed to get through the first round of voting.

READ MORE: WATCH: Daredevil jumps off crane in Oxford city centre

Mr Courts, who is parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport, publicly announced his support for transport secretary Mr Shapps on July 10.

At the time, Mr Courts said Mr Shapps was “the right person to take our country forward”.

Since Mr Shapps has pulled out of the race, the MP has now issued his support for Kemi Badenoch, who previously served as minister of state for equalities.

He wrote on Twitter before the first round of voting in Westminster:  “In our new leader we need not just change but clear principle. A leader with conviction and vision.

“There’s no doubt that @KemiBadenoch has these qualities - and many more.”

David Johnston has not, at the time of this articles publication, backed a new candidate.

North Oxfordshire MP Victoria Prentis backed Rishi Sunak, who scored the highest number of votes in the first round. 

John Howell remains publically undeclared. 

-

Read more from this author

This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

A message from our Editor

Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.

If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more. 

You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile. 

If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.