Hampshire MPs have been pledging support to candidates in the latest Conservative leadership campaign.

Ms Truss stepped down from the top job on October 20 after a chaotic few weeks at the helm. 

Though she insisted she is a “fighter, not a quitter”, a growing number of her MPs had said she should reconsider her stance after a series of humiliating U-turns.

Steve Brine, MP for Winchester and Chandler's Ford is backing Rishi Sunak, after Jeremy Hunt announced he would not be in the running.

In a Facebook post, Mr Brine shared a video of Mr Sunak visiting Winchester in the last leadership campaign in July.

He said: "I don’t think I can do much better than share this post again and say, if he confirms his intention to run, I will of course be supporting Rishi Sunak to be our next Prime Minister. We must look forward - never back - IMO."

After Mr Sunak confirmed he was in the running, Mr Brine said: "The news we hoped for and, frankly, the country needs. I will be supporting you Rishi. Let’s do this."

Romsey MP Caroline Nokes also pledged her support to Mr Sunak.

In a post on Twitter, she said: "I've been listening to my constituents over the last 36 hours, in surgery yesterday, in The Hundred in Romsey in the rain, by email and phone - they overwhelmingly want economic competence and stability, they've told me they're #Ready4Rishi and so am I."

Meon Valley MP Flick Drummond said: "I am supporting Rishi Sunak again to be our next Conservative leader and Prime Minister. We need someone with experience, economic competence and attention to detail. Rishi supported people and businesses through the pandemic and understands what is needed to put the economy back on track. The next cabinet needs to be one with the brightest and experienced MPs and we all need to come together and work hard to help the most vulnerable in our society and build our economy for the future."

READ MORE: Hampshire MPs vote against Labour motion to ban fracking amid chaotic scenes in the Commons

Candidates have until 2pm on Monday to secure the 100 nominations, limiting the ballot to a maximum of three candidates.

Supporters of Boris Johnson believe that if he can make it to the last two, he will win in the final online ballot of party activists with whom he remains hugely popular.

Mr Sunak won the backing of Sajid Javid, his predecessor as chancellor who backed Ms Truss in the last race and Mr Johnson in 2019.

Mr Javid said Mr Sunak has the “values our party needs” to help them “move on from the mistakes of the past”.

Ms Truss's resignation means she will be the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

She has currently clocked up 44 full days in the role – a long way behind the next shortest premiership, that of Tory statesman George Canning, who spent 118 full days as PM in 1827 before dying in office from ill health.

Ms Truss was to have overtaken this number of days on January 3, 2023.