Early Tory leadership frontrunner Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson’s ‘frenemy’ Michael Gove have already ruled out running to replace him as Liz Truss rushed back early from a summit 7,800-miles away in Bali while her rivals were already out on manoeuvres.
The Prime Minister’s resignation has fired the starting pistol on the race to be the next Conservative leader, although several MPs began their campaign yesterday and Nadhim Zahawi is rumoured to have been planning for months with the help of Mr Johnson’s election guru Sir Lynton Crosby.
A snap YouGov poll has revealed that Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is the clear favourite among Conservative Party members to replace Johnson – and would be every candidate in the final head to head run off – but he would not say whether he would run on a visit to a military training area in the north of England this afternoon.
He said: ‘He’s still the Prime Minister’, adding that once he has left ‘I will be happy to talk’.
Mr Johnson has said that he will stay until a new leader is appointed by the Autumn, but mutinous MPs are determined to force him out immediately with Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab primed to be acting prime minister.
But Mr Raab, who was joint favorite with Rishi Sunak to get the job permanently, has reportedly ruled out running as has Michael Gove, who was sacked by the PM last night and branded a traitor for urging him to go. The Mirror is reporting that Rishi already has a temporary campaign office set up in a hotel close to Parliament.
Mr Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, who was giving a speech to Royal Navy and US top brass in London today, are the two remaining favourites with the bookies. Ms Mordaunt is believed to be running and reported to have her campaign team ready. But Mr Wallace is the favourite with the Tory faithful – even though it is still not clear if he wants the job.
Liz Truss is yet to declare – but the Foreign Secretary has long been suspected of harbouring leadership ambitions, posing for photos that recall Margaret Thatcher as well as echoing her passion for freedom and low taxes. She has also been hosting ‘Fizz with Liz’ drinks in order to boost her support among fellow Tory MPs.
But amid chaos at home, Ms Truss flew to Indonesia yesterday for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, leaving her an 18 hour flight away in Bali today. There are growing rumours she will leave early to join the leadership fight.
Today she called for ‘calmness and unity’ after Boris Johnson quit following a series of scandals and an exodus of cabinet ministers. ‘The PM has made the right decision. The Government under Boris’s leadership had many achievements – delivering Brexit, vaccines and backing Ukraine. We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found,’ she tweeted.
Boris Johnson walks back into No 10 after he announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party
Rishi Sunak leaving home this morning. He quit as Chancellor on Tuesday night, helping kickstart a chain reaction that toppled Boris. He is expected to run and is the bookies’ favourite. Rumours are he already has a team set up in a Westminster hotel
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss walks to attend a bilateral meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi ahead of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali. Penny Mordaunt popped up to give a speech in London
Mr Wallace, pictured at Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, has dramatically increased in popularity during the Ukraine crisis. He has not said if he will stand
Nadhim Zahawi chairs a meeting with Andrew Bailey, The Governor of the Bank of England today. He is said to have been planning for this for months. Michael Gove, pictured right, is said to have ruled out running
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer (L) kisses his wife Victoria at the Centre Court this afternoon as he called for Boris Johnson to leave No 10 immediately
Last night it was claimed that Nadhim Zahawi has been secretly preparing a Tory leadership campaign with close allies of election guru Sir Lynton Crosby.
The Chancellor has reportedly spent months working on plans that include proposals to cut corporation tax and VAT.
Boris Johnson’s ex-strategist Mark Fullbrook is running the campaign, according to The Times. The plan is apparently ready to put into action and Mr Zahawi was prepared to resign this week if he had not been made Chancellor.
This morning he knifed Mr Johnson, 24 hours after backing him.
Tory MP Damian Green has given the clearest indication yet that Tom Tugendhat will run to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party. Until today Mr Tugendhat has largely tweeted about learning to plait his daughter’s hair.
But he said today: ‘Right call by Boris Johnson to resign. Delivered Brexit, rolled out the vaccine and led on Ukraine. Now we need a clean start’.
Mr Green, an old ally of former prime minister Theresa May, told Sky News that he would be backing the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in any leadership contest.
‘I think we need a fresh start. And, in particular, we need to restore trust in government, not just in this Government or a Conservative government, but in the way we do government more widely. I think having somebody who’s not in the Cabinet… I think that’s an advantage.’
Asked if Mr Tugendhat was definitely running, he said: ‘I hope so, otherwise I wouldn’t be saying this. So, yes, I think you can, you can take it that Tom is going to run’.
Former prime minister Sir John Major has said it would be ‘unwise and may be unsustainable’ for Boris Johnson to remain in office while a new Tory leader is elected.
Sir John warned Mr Johnson would continue to have the power of patronage and the ability to make decisions affecting the lives of people across the country despite losing the support of his MPs and ministers.
He warned the new interim Cabinet appointed by Mr Johnson following the wave of resignations this week may not be able to ‘restrain him’.
In a letter to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, Sir John said: ‘The proposal for the Prime Minister to remain in office – for up to three months – having lost the support of his Cabinet, his Government and his parliamentary party is unwise, and may be unsustainable.
‘In such a circumstance the Prime Minister maintains the power of patronage and, of even greater concern, the power to make decisions which will affect the lives of those within all four nations of the United Kingdom and further afield.
‘Some will argue that his new Cabinet will restrain him. I merely note that his previous Cabinet did not – or could not – do so.’
Sir John suggested Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab could serve as acting prime minister until a new leader is elected.
Or he said Tory MPs could elect the new leader who would become prime minister, with party members then asked to endorse the decision.
Sir John said: ‘Neither of these options is ideal, but the interests of the country must be given priority over all else and with so many long-term and critical issues before us, an imaginative response even at the risk of some bruised feelings within the party is most definitely in the national interest.’
Under the expected timetable, Conservative MPs will take part in a series of votes to whittle leadership candidates down to two, with Tory members then deciding the winner.
The process could take months, with a new leader expected to be in place before the party conference in October.
Bookmakers are currently making Rishi Sunak – who quit as Chancellor only two days ago – and Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab joint favourites at 4/1.
But there are a series of other potential frontrunners to replace Mr Johnson as Prime Minister, such as Penny Mordaunt and Ben Wallace who are both at 5/1.
Leadership candidate Tom Turgendhat has not mentioned Boris Johnson’s future – instead concentrating on doing his daughter’s hair before school. But insiders have claimed he is ready to run
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace topped a key ConservativeHome poll of Tory members over who should replace Boris Johnson as the party’s next leader
Others on the list include Sajid Javid – the most experienced candidate having served as Home Secretary and Chancellor – and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at 7/1. Also in the running is Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi at 8/1 and Jeremy Hunt at 10/1.
It comes as a YouGov survey of 716 Tory party members shows a diverse field in the race to replace Mr Johnson – but Mr Wallace the clear favourite in head-to-heads.
Mr Wallace tops the overall list in the snap poll at 13 per cent, just ahead of Ms Mordaunt at 12 per cent, Mr Sunak at 10 per cent and Ms Truss at 8 per cent.
But Mr Wallace then wins all of his match-ups by wide margins – with his closest competitor being Mr Sunak, whom he sees off by 51 per cent to 30 per cent.
A recent survey by the influential ConservativeHome website has said that Ben Wallace and Penny Mordaunt are the favourites to amongst Tory members if and when a new leadership election starts. Liz Truss is in third place followed by Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi. Rishi Sunak is way off the pace in ninth and Sajid Javid in 12th.
But editor Paul Goodman said that ‘don’t know chalked up 20 per cent or above for most contests. Which means that in most pairings, the contenders would have a fifth of the vote to try to squeeze were the contest real’.
When it comes to Rishi Sunak, most Britons believe the chancellor was right to resign (56%), with Conservative voters tending to agree by 47% to 24%.
Mr Sunak remains joint favourite to be the next Tory leader with Penny Mordaunt at 4/1. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is at 8/1, the same odds as Liz Truss. New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is at 9/1, but he is the only candidate whose odds are shortening with very bookmaker.
Jeremy Hunt is next at 10/1, but a recent poll of Tory members found that he would lose in a run off against all the main candidates.
Ben Wallace topped a key poll of Conservatives over who should replace Boris Johnson as the party’s next leader, after helping lead the response to the Ukraine crisis.
The Cabinet minister just pipped his predecessor, Penny Mordaunt, to top spot in the survey by the influential ConservativeHome website.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was the third most-favoured among Tory members to take over from the Prime Minister.
But Rishi Sunak – who for a long time was viewed as the most likely successor to Mr Johnson – has dramatically fallen out of favour with the Conservative grassroots following the controversy over his family’s finances and tax affairs. He will hope that his resignation will help.
Of the 755 people surveyed, Mr Wallace – who is at the forefront of Britain’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – was backed by more than 15 per cent of respondents.
His popularity has dramatically increased since Vladimir Putin launched his barbaric assault on Russia’s neighbour, despite the Defence Secretary having fallen victim to a hoax call by Russian imposters in the early weeks of the conflict.
When ConservativeHome last asked Tory members who they favoured being the party’s next leader, in December last year, Mr Wallace wasn’t even named by those surveyed.
Mr Wallace also topped a separate monthly ConservativeHome survey of Tory members when they were asked how satisfied they were with the performance of Cabinet ministers.
He had a net satisfaction rating of more than 85 per cent, while Mr Johnson remained at the bottom of the table for the second month running on -21 per cent.
Ms Mordaunt, who was Mr Wallace’s predecessor at the Ministry of Defence and is now a trade minister, was the next most popular among Tory members as a future leader.
Mr Wallace also topped a separate monthly ConservativeHome survey of Tory members when they were asked how satisfied they were with the performance of Cabinet ministers
Anyone but Jeremy Hunt: It appears the former health Secretary would lose to all the main candidates
These are the top eight candidates in the race to become PM:
=1. RISHI SUNAK (4/1)
The former Chancellor’s rise from relative obscurity to household name over a few years came as he turned on the spending taps to protect jobs through the furlough scheme when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
His calm and measured delivery during televised Covid briefings, and his viral declaration of being a ‘total coke addict’ when talking about Coca-Cola, will have endeared him to those perhaps not always plugged in to the political goings-on, as well as his resignation on matters of principle on Tuesday.
He said that the British public ‘rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously’.
Mr Sunak was also praised for his Covid economic rescue package, including the costly furlough jobs retention programme that averted mass unemployment. But he later faced criticism for not giving enough cost-of-living support to households.
And his stock was also damaged by disclosures that his wife had non-dom status for tax purposes, and a fine he received along with the PM for breaking lockdown rules.
In addition, his tax-and-spend budget last year put the country on course for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s, undermining his claims to favour lower taxes.
=1. DOMINIC RAAB (4/1)
Dominic Raab – who is the joint favourite with Mr Sunak to take over as PM – was appointed Deputy Prime Minister last September, having been first elected as a Conservative MP in May 2010.
He was also Brexit Secretary from July to November 2018, Housing Minister from from January to July 2018, and Justice Minister from June 2017 to January 2018.
Before going into politics, the father-of-two worked as a business lawyer at City law firm Linklaters, focusing on project finance and competition law.
He did not quit the Cabinet amid the series of resignations this week, with a source close to him saying he was ‘loyal’ to Boris Johnson.
After it emerged the PM would quit, Tory peer and pollster Lord Hayward said he thinks there may be pressure for Mr Johnson to stand aside now and for Mr Raab to become acting prime minister.
Dominic Cummings, formerly Mr Johnson’s right-hand man but now one of his most fierce critics, also suggested that Mr Raab should stand in as a caretaker premier.
He said the Cabinet should give Mr Johnson an ultimatum and tell him that if he does not go, the Queen will appoint Mr Raab and ‘cops escort you from building’.
=3. PENNY MORDAUNT (5/1)
Another frontrunner with the bookies – currently third favourite – Ms Mordaunt made waves in 2019 as the UK’s first female defence secretary.
But she was fired by Boris Johnson shortly after he became Prime Minister, after she endorsed his rival Jeremy Hunt during the last leadership contest.
Ms Mordaunt is also a Royal Navy reservist, the current trade minister and a former reality television contestant, having appeared on the Tom Daley-fronted diving show Splash.
She played a prominent role in the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and has previously reportedly enjoyed the backing of Dame Andrea Leadsom among others.
Currently a junior trade minister, Mordaunt called the lockdown-breaking parties in government ‘shameful’. She had previously expressed loyalty to Mr Johnson.
=3. BEN WALLACE (5/1)
The Defence Secretary has won admirers in Westminster for his straight-talking and straightforward approach, particularly among Conservative MPs who pressed for the UK to increase its defence spending, although cuts to the size of the Army remain a cause for concern.
Mr Wallace, who served in the Scots Guards, remains a key voice in the UK’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and this increased exposure could assist any leadership bid.
He has consistently supported Mr Johnson, but has pressed the case for increased defence spending.
The former soldier was mentioned in dispatches in 1992 for an incident in which the patrol he was commanding captured an Irish Republican Army guerrilla unit suspected of trying to carry out a bomb attack on British troops.
He began his political career as a member of Scotland’s devolved assembly in May 1999, before being first elected to the Westminster parliament in 2005.
He was security minister from 2016 until taking on his current role three years later, winning plaudits as his department evacuated British nationals and allies from Afghanistan last year, and for sending weapons to Kyiv.
=5. SAJID JAVID (7/1)
Like Mr Sunak, Mr Javid’s resignation on Tuesday caused chaos in Number 10, as the Health Secretary from famously humble beginnings left the Government.
State school-educated Mr Javid – known as ‘The Saj’ in some circles – is the son of a bus driver who arrived in England from Pakistan in the 1960s.
He held ministerial roles in housing, business and culture before becoming Chancellor, and then Health Secretary in the middle of the pandemic.
Mr Javid made it to the final four in the contest to replace Theresa May as Tory leader in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Mr Johnson.
He told reporters after his resignation on Tuesday evening that he was looking forward to spending time with his family – but that was before Mr Johnson also decided to quit.
A former banker and a champion of free markets, Mr Javid is also a known admirer of Margaret Thatcher.
6. LIZ TRUSS (7/1)
The Foreign Secretary has made little secret of her leadership ambitions, with a series of high-profile interventions and photo opportunities in which she appeared to be channelling late prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Among these was when she was photographed in a tank last year, echoing a famous 1986 photo of Britain’s first female prime minister.
Her hard line on Ukraine, insisting Russian forces must be driven from the country, and threats to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU, play well with sections of the party.
The 46-year-old spent the first two years of Mr Johnson’s premiership as international trade secretary, championing Brexit, and last year was appointed as Britain’s lead negotiator with the European Union.
Away from politics, Ms Truss’s flair for social media has seen her offer an insight into life outside of Westminster by updating her Instagram account with pictures of her relaxing at the beach, or behind the scenes at official events, though her passions combined to bizarre effect in 2014 when her improbably enthusiastic speech about opening pork markets in Beijing went viral.
She is seen as the darling of the Conservative Party’s grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home.
Ms Truss had said on Monday that Mr Johnson had her ‘100 per cent backing’ and she urged colleagues to support him.
Sources close to her today said that she is cutting short an official trip to Indonesia and will issue a statement shortly.
7. NADHIM ZAHAWI (8/1)
The former education secretary is regarded by some as a ‘safe pair of hands’ if other candidates prove too divisive – indeed he was the man trusted to take on the broadcast round of interviews yesterday morning, on his first full day in his new job as Chancellor.
But asked if he will run for leader when there is a vacancy, he said: ‘There is no vacancy.’
Mr Zahawi, whose personal story as a former refugee from Iraq who came to Britain as a child sets him apart from other contenders, was a successful businessman before entering politics.
He came to wider prominence as vaccines minister during the pandemic where he was credited with playing a key part in the successful rollout of the jab, which was one of the world’s fastest schemes.
He co-founded polling company YouGov before entering parliament in 2010. Mr Zahawi said last week that it would be a ‘privilege’ to be prime minister at some stage.
This morning, he urged Boris Johnson to resign, saying on Twitter: ‘Prime Minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now.’
8. JEREMY HUNT (10/1)
The former foreign secretary and ex-health secretary has been a persistent backbench critic of Boris Johnson and had called on the Prime Minister to quit.
Mr Hunt, 55, is widely expected to make a fresh bid for the leadership, having been runner-up to Mr Johnson in 2019, and is among the early favourites with bookmakers.
As chairman of the Commons Health Committee, he has used his position to make a number of critical interventions on the Government’s handling of the pandemic, although his strong support for lockdown measures will not have pleased all Tory MPs.
Observers believe Mr Hunt would offer a more serious and less controversial style of leadership after the turmoil of Mr Johnson’s premiership.
He has not been tarnished by having served in the current government – and earlier this year, he said his ambition to become prime minister ‘hasn’t completely vanished’.
Mr Hunt said he voted to oust Johnson in a confidence vote last month that the prime minister narrowly won.
Ben Wallace tops an overall YouGov survey of Tory party members today at 13 per cent, just ahead of Penny Mordaunt at 12 per cent, Rishi Sunak at 10 per cent and Liz Truss at 8 per cent
Ben Wallace then wins all of his match-ups in the YouGov survey by wide margins – with his closest competitor being Rishi Sunak, whom he sees off by 51 per cent to 30 per cent
And here are three other potential candidates further down the bookmakers’ list, who have all said or suggested that they would like to run for Conservative leader:
STEVE BAKER (10/1)
Prominent Brexiteer and former minister Steve Baker, a senior Tory backbencher, confirmed today that he is seriously considering putting himself forward for the top job.
He told Times Radio that people are asking him to do it, and it would be ‘dismissive and disrespectful’ if he did not heed expressions of support, though he said he regards the prospect with ‘something akin to dread’.
Mr Baker successfully plotted to oust Theresa May as prime minister but, despite his credentials as a Brexit die-hard, he is not a household name.
TOM TUGENDHAT (12/1)
The polyglot chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee became the first to announce his intention to stand for leader should Mr Johnson be turfed out – with his declaration made in January.
A Remainer in 2016, the former soldier has been a trenchant critic of Mr Johnson – a stance that would appear to have cost him any chance of ministerial preferment under the current leadership.
He recently sought to distance himself from a call by his fellow Remainer, Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood, for the UK to rejoin the EU single market.
SUELLA BRAVERMAN (40/1)
The Attorney General launched an unlikely leadership bid as support for Mr Johnson crumbled around him last night.
Previously loyal to the departing premier, she told Peston on ITV that he had handled matters ‘appallingly’ in recent days and ‘the balance has tipped now in favour of saying that the Prime Minister – it pains me to say it – but it’s time to go’.
Ms Braverman, who was first elected as an MP in 2015, is regarded as something of an outsider for the leadership given the party grandees already tipped to be in the running.
The odds above are the best price available across all major UK bookmakers as of 10am today, taken from Oddschecker