As a result of Liz Truss’s resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Thursday, a new leadership contest will be held within a week.
Despite Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s call for a general election that might return his party to power, both familiar and unfamiliar Conservative Party politicians may run to replace Truss, who served in office for 45 days.
Following Truss’ departure, Boris Johnson and Kemi Badenoch are vying for the position of prime minister.
Graham Brady, the Conservative official in charge of the selection process, stated that the replacement contenders for Truss will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs).
BBC states that if more than one candidate fits this criterion, the Conservative members will vote online, and the new prime minister will be unveiled on Friday, October 28.
Read Also: Full text of Liz Truss’ resignation letter
Here are potential candidates for the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom:
Lord Boris Johnson
Truss’ predecessor, Johnson, was driven out of office in July due to a series of scandals that plagued his administration.
However, his allies contend that Johnson may be a candidate for national unity who will stabilize the economy.
Thursday, one of his closest allies stated, “Socialists will destroy our economy and if you don’t understand that then I genuinely fear for our future. The only person that I think that ticks all those boxes is Boris Johnson.”
In his final speech as prime minister, Johnson made one of his signature ancient history references by stating that he would “return to ish plough” like the Roman statesman Cincinnatus.
Cincinnatus was summoned from the fields to return to Rome for a second term as a dictator.
Rishi Sunak
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Sunak competed vigorously against Truss.
He appears to be the favorite, having warned Truss that her unfunded tax cuts would be terrible for the United Kingdom. He stated that they would cause panic on the bond market and cause the International Monetary Fund to be concerned.
Sunak has experience combating economic crises, having led the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 epidemic.
In the previous leadership election, he likewise received the most votes from MPs, surpassing the new threshold with 137 endorsements. Although Truss ultimately won the decisive vote of the members, Sunak only lost by a slim margin, with 43% of the vote.
Penny Mordaunt
Mordaunt is the leader of the House of Commons and has the ability to serve as prime minister. She may have had a dress rehearsal for the position of prime minister this week, when she stood in for an absent Truss during a debate.
“The prime minister is not under a desk,” Mordaunt said on Tuesday in an occasion that appeared as much about pitching herself as it did about helping the PM.
Penny Mordaunt
She placed third in the previous election for the position of leader, just missing out on being presented to the members. With 105 votes from MPs in the past election, it is anticipated that she will also surpass the new barrier.
Kemi Badenoch
Badenoch, a British-Nigerian, finished fourth in the most recent leadership election with 59 votes from MPs.
She is the Secretary of State for International Trade and has been repeatedly ranked as the favorite candidate of grassroots Conservatives, according to polls.
Kemi Badenoch
Michael Gove, a long-serving Tory grandee, promptly endorsed Badenoch, one of the younger candidates for office, praising her as a “exceptional talent” in the party.
Badenoch is on the right side of the Conservative party, and in her previous campaign for the leadership she argued that the government’s climate goals may prove too expensive.
David Shapps
Shapps became the Secretary of State for the Department of the Interior in the final days of the Truss administration. He served as transport secretary under the leadership of Boris Johnson.
In the previous leadership election, he ran for the position but withdrew three days later after failing to collect the required 20 MPs’ votes to advance.
According to reports, the new threshold will likely be too high for Shapps, but his early criticism of the Truss administration may have garnered him the support of more lawmakers than in the past.
Other contestants’ names
Wednesday’s resignation of Suella Braverman as home secretary may have been a precursor to a prospective leadership bid. The former attorney general has never run for office before, but based on her staunch stance on immigration, she may be able to pull the party further to the right.
Tom Tugendhat became an unexpected favorite among Tory members and the general public, after placing fifth in the previous leadership race. After serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, Truss appointed Tugendhat as minister of security.
Ben Wallace, defence secretary and another ex-military man, was projected to succeed Johnson in the most recent leadership election, polling exceptionally well among Conservative members.
Theresa May, the former prime minister, has also been suggested as a potential “unity” candidate to succeed Truss. May attempted to unite the Conservative party’s warring factions over Brexit, a move that ultimately led to her replacement by Boris Johnson.
