British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central London on July 7, 2022. JUSTIN THALLIS/AFP/Getty Images
As Boris Johnson defiantly tries to hang on to power for as long as possible, contenders are lining up to replace him as leader of the Conservative Party and British prime minister.
Mr Johnson announced his resignation as leader on Thursday but insisted he planned to stay in the post for as long as possible. “Today I appointed a cabinet to serve – as I will – until a new leader is appointed,” he said.
True to his word, Mr Johnson spent part of Friday holding cabinet meetings and appointing ministers. But a growing number of Tories have called for him to hand over the reins to an interim leader. Choosing a replacement could take the rest of the summer, and many conservatives do not believe it is appropriate for Mr. Johnson to remain in office that long.
Allowing Mr Johnson to remain in office for up to three months “having lost the support of his cabinet, government and parliamentary party is unwise and perhaps untenable,” former Conservative prime minister John Major said in a letter to conservative members of parliament. “In such circumstances, the Prime Minister retains the power of patronage and, even more worryingly, the power to make decisions that will affect the lives of people across the four nations of the UK and beyond.”
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The opposition Labor Party plans to table a vote of no confidence in the government next week if “the Conservatives don’t get their act together and get rid of Boris Johnson”, deputy leader Angela Rayner said. If passed, it will lead to a general elections. However, given the Conservatives’ large majority in the House of Commons, the proposal is unlikely to pass.
However, the unrest among the Conservatives has given Labor a boost, which now has a solid lead in some opinion polls. The party’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer, also received a boost on Friday when Durham Police dropped an investigation into allegations that he and another senior party figure breached COVID-19 regulations in 2021.
Sir Keir had said he would resign if police found he had done anything wrong, but police concluded the allegations had no basis. “This is a very good week for the Labor Party and my challenge to the Tories is not who will be your next leader, but give us the change we really need. Let’s have a general election, let’s change the government, a new start for our country,” Sir Keir said on Friday.
The race to succeed Mr. Johnson is expected to heat up next week when officials announce the race schedule. The Tories will first vote among themselves and choose two candidates. The party members will then choose the winner.
The last two Conservative leadership contests have been largely uneventful because there were clear front-runners: Theresa May in 2016 and Mr Johnson in 2019. Mrs May was such an overwhelming favorite that no one ran against her, while Mr. Johnson won two-thirds of the members’ votes.
This time the race is wide open, but several candidates have better chances. (Each candidate’s probability of winning the leadership was obtained by British oddsmakers as of July 8.)
Who will replace Boris Johnson?
Ben Wallace
Betting Odds: 3/1
The defense secretary has a good record among Conservative members, which may have something to do with the war in Ukraine and Britain’s strong support for the Ukrainian government. A preliminary poll of 716 party members by YouGov put Mr Wallace, 52, well ahead of other likely candidates. He is also a former soldier who has been the Member of Parliament for Wyre and Preston North, north of Manchester, since 2010. He attended the Royal Military Academy and rose to the rank of captain in the Scots Guards, a regiment in the British Army. He entered politics in 1999 as a member of the Scottish Parliament and, although he has a limited public profile, many members will see him as a steady hand after years of controversy under Mr Johnson.
Rishi Sunak
Betting Odds: 4.5/1
Sunak, 42, was considered a rising star when he was appointed finance minister in 2020. He has degrees from Oxford University and Stanford and worked at Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund before turning to politics in 2014. He won praise at the start of the pandemic for rolling out a number of support programs, but has run into trouble recently. He and Mr Johnson were among 83 officials who each had to pay a fine of £50 (about $77) for breaching the COVID-19 lockdown rules. Mr Sunak also ran into controversy after his wife Akshata Murthy, who is the daughter of an Indian billionaire, revealed she had registered as a British resident, allowing her to save millions in tax. He launched his campaign on Friday with a sly video highlighting his immigrant background and his dedication to family.
Liz Truss
Betting Odds: 9/1
Ms Truss, 46, has held several cabinet posts since she first won the seat in 2010. She is currently foreign secretary and cut short a trip to the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia this week. to return to London for the campaign. An economist by training, Ms Truss is from the right wing of the party and a strong believer in the free market. Although she is widely popular for her views on free enterprise, there have been questions about her commitment to Brexit and whether she would be up to the job of prime minister.
Penny Mordaunt
Betting Odds: 5.5/1
She has also held several government posts – including as the UK’s first female defense minister – since becoming an MP in 2010. Mrs Mordaunt, 49, has military experience and is a member of the Royal Navy Reserve. She is considered a moderate, although she was a prominent supporter of Brexit. She is expected to run as a candidate who can unite all factions in the party.
Jeremy Hunt
Betting Odds: 12/1
The former health secretary ran against Mr Johnson in 2019, but his opposition to Brexit hampered his bid and he lost badly. He is considered a centrist and his calm demeanor could be an antidote to Mr Johnson’s bombast. Mr Hunt, 55, has also been a voice of reason from the Tory backbenches during the pandemic, often offering constructive criticism of government policy. But his ‘Remain’ status will continue to bring him back to the Tory faithful, and members are likely to be looking for a new face this time around.
Sajid Javid
Betting Odds: 14/1
Another former health secretary, Mr Javid, is an economist with a penchant for Margaret Thatcher and the American writer Ayn Rand. First elected in 2010, he has held a number of business-related Cabinet posts and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2019. Javid, 52, made headlines this week by resigning as Health Secretary and calling on Mr n Johnson to step down. “In recent months it has become impossible to walk the tightrope between loyalty and integrity,” he told the House of Commons. He ran for the leadership twice – in 2016 and 2019 – but both times failed to get very far.
Nadhim Zahawi
Betting Odds: 3/10
He has won plaudits for his role as the minister responsible for the successful launch of a COVID-19 vaccine in Britain and has also served as education minister. After a wave of cabinet departures this week, Mr Johnson appointed Mr Zahawi, 55, as finance minister. His story may prove popular with party members. Born into a prominent family in Iraq, Mr Zahawi’s parents had to flee the country when Saddam Hussein came to power in the 1970s. They headed to Britain, where Mr Zahawi grew up in Sussex and became a successful businessman.
Others who may join the race include Steve Baker, a backbench Brexit campaigner who has strong popular support; Michael Gove, a former senior cabinet minister who led the successful Yes campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum with Mr Johnson; and Priti Patel, the current Home Secretary who introduced controversial policies to deport illegal migrants in Rwanda.
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