Penny Mordaunt political views: is she a Brexiteer, voting record - and comments on trans issues and Turkey

Penny Mordaunt is one of the frontrunners in the race to become the UK’s next Prime Minister.

She has become the bookies favourite after a stronger-than-expected performance in the first two rounds of the Tory leadership contest.

In both votes, Ms Mordaunt came second to Rishi Sunak but beat Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

A YouGov poll of 879 Tory members also put her as the favourite, with 27% saying they would vote for the Portsmouth North MP - almost double the amount of those who said they would back second-placed Kemi Badenoch (15%).

Rishi Sunak and Ms Truss were both backed by 13% of those questioned.

This has dramatically shifted focus onto Ms Mordaunt, resulting in attacks on the trade minister from those towards the right of the Conservative Party.

So, what does Ms Mordaunt’s voting history look like, and why are her fellow MPs criticising her?

Trans Rights

Ms Mordaunt previously angered Tory traditionalists by speaking out in favour of trans rights and gender recognition.

Last year in the House of Commons, she told MPs: “Trans men are men and trans women are women.”

This caused her to clash with right-wing Tory MPs at a recent leadership hustings event.

They criticised her over a decision to replace the word "woman" with "pregnant person" in a Bill to allow fellow contender Suella Braverman to take maternity leave last year.

The emergency legislation was introduced to allow Mrs Braverman time off while she had her second child as women in the cabinet were not entitled to leave for giving birth.

However, Ms Mordaunt recently appeared to change her stance on gender recognition.

She wrote on Twitter: “I am biologically a woman. If I have a hysterectomy or mastectomy, I am still a woman. And I am legally a woman.

“Some people born male and who have been through the gender recognition process are also legally female. That DOES NOT mean they are biological women, like me.”

She later added: “All my life, I’ve fought for gender equality. I’ve stood up for women. I’ve listened to them. I’ve been right alongside them in every major battle. I make sure policy is focused on them. Just look at my track record.

“My work resulted in a comprehensive road map of what any government should be focusing on for women at every stage of their lives. It remains relevant today.”

Brexit

Ms Mordaunt voted to leave the European Union and was one of the leading voices of the “Leave” campaign during the Brexit referendum.

She has since continued to praise the UK’s departure from the EU, insisting in an article for The Telegraph that “the benefits are huge.”

However, former Brexit minister Lord Frost has today (14 July) launched a scathing attack on Ms Mordaunt, saying that he has “grave reservations” about her becoming Prime Minister.

The Brexit hardliner critiqued her performance during negotiations with the EU.

He told TalkTV,  “She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the EU when that was necessary.”

Lord Frost continued: “She wasn’t always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. It became such a problem that after six months I had to ask the Prime Minister to move her on.”

Ms Mordaunt previously sparked controversy a month before the referendum in May 2016, when she claimed the UK would have no say in whether Turkey could join the EU.

She was criticised for spreading falsehoods and playing on fears of mass immigration.

When asked about these claims by LBC’s Iain Dale, Ms Mordaunt said: “I actually stand by that. Well, the short answer is the British public didn’t have a say. The long answer is it was government policy.”

Mr Dale replied: “It wasn’t true to say we didn’t have a veto. We did.”

Ms Mordaunt said: “There is a provision for veto, but we could not have used it… because David Cameron gave an undertaking that he would support their accession.

“Having given that undertaking to a NATO country, he would not have been able to walk away.”

At the time, Prime Minister David Cameron had to deny Ms Mordaunt’s claims.

Economy

Ms Mordaunt usually votes the same way as other Conservative MPs on matters relating to the economy and finance.

She has generally voted for increasing taxes, particularly on items such as alcohol or food items that are high in fat.

According to TheyWorkForYou, she has ‘almost always’ voted against increasing the tax rate applied to incomes of over £150,000.

She has also ‘almost always’ voted against an annual tax on the value of expensive homes - known as the ‘mansion tax’.

Ms Mordaunt, who served as minister for disabled people under former prime minister Theresa May, has also ‘consistently’ voted for raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax.

She has ‘almost always’ voted to reduce spending on welfare benefits.

Gay Rights

Ms Mordaunt has consistently voted in favour of equal gay rights and same sex marriage.

In 2020, she voted to permit same sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and news organisation PinkNews have both referred to Ms Mordaunt as an “ally.”

Immigration

The Portsmouth North MP has ‘consistently’ voted for stronger enforcement of immigration rules.

She has also ‘consistently’ voted for a stricter asylum system and has said she will retain the Rwanda migrant plan if she becomes Prime Minister.

Abortion

Ms Mordaunt has often publicly shown her support for abortion.

In 2019, in response to growing opposition, she spoke at an event hosted by the Canadian Embassy.

She said: “Leadership means not shying away from issues like safe abortion when the evidence shows us these services will save women’s lives.”

You can view Ms Mordaunt’s full voting record on TheyWorkForYou.