Key Points
- The Conservative Party has begun the process of deciding who will be the UK's next prime minister.
- The timetable to nominate Johnson's replacement will be set out next week.
With the resignation of Boris Johnson, the process has begun to determine who will be the new Conservative leader, and therefore the new prime minister of the UK.
Mr Johnson said he would serve as caretaker prime minister until his successor is chosen.
MPs who have declared their intention to run in the leadership contest include Attorney-General Suella Braverman and Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Several other possible successors have also been suggested.
The timetable to nominate Johnson's replacement will be set out next week.
Party grandees hope to conclude the two-stage contest well before the Conservative party holds its annual conference in October.
The first stage will see the 358 Conservative members of parliament whittle the nominees down to two, via successive rounds of voting in which the bottom candidate is eliminated each time.
The second stage will involve tens of thousands of grassroots party members picking the winner in a secret ballot.
Rishi Sunak
The UK's first Hindu chancellor of the exchequer, who quit on Tuesday, was until recently the bookmakers' favourite.
But his prospects were dented by questions over his private wealth and family's tax arrangements.
His resignation has seen him return as one of the bookies' frontrunners for the top job.
Mr Sunak, 42, has a high profile on social media, and won plaudits for shoring up the economy during the pandemic.
But his refusal initially to authorise more support over a surging cost-of-living crisis has hurt his popularity.
Tom Tugendhat
The former army officer, 49, is a prominent backbencher who chairs parliament's influential Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr Tugendhat said late Thursday he was launching his bid to succeed Mr Johnson, the first candidate to announce their campaign since the premier announced his resignation.
In an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Tugendhat who heads parliament's foreign affairs committee, confirmed his intention to stand for the leadership of the Conservative party, saying he wanted to bring together a "broad coalition" for a "clean start".
"I have served before - in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister," he wrote.
Mr Tugendhat had indicated he would stand in any leadership contest but there is no love lost between him and Johnson loyalists.
A hawk on China, he has been critical of the government's handling of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Jeremy Hunt
Former foreign and health secretary Jeremy Hunt, 55, lost to Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest, when he branded himself as the "serious" alternative.
Mr Hunt sent a thinly veiled campaign message for a new leadership bid last month, arguing that under Johnson "we are no longer trusted by the electorate" and "we are set to lose the next general election".
But the fluent Japanese speaker lacks Johnson's charisma. His pre-pandemic record as health secretary was recently savaged by a Johnson ally.
Liz Truss
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, 46, is popular among Conservative party members, liked for her outspokenness and willingness to go on the political attack.
But that has also stoked questions about her judgement, for instance when in February she encouraged Britons to fight in Ukraine.
Critics say her leadership posturing is too overt.
When she headed the Department for International Trade, some MPs dubbed it the "Department for Instagramming Truss" because of her prolific output on the social media site.
Away this week at a G20 meeting, she has reportedly cut her trip short to return to Westminster and make a statement later Thursday.
Sajid Javid
Mr Javid, who also quit as health secretary on Tuesday, had previously resigned as finance minister in 2020.
The 52-year-old is the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver who went on to become a high-flying banker.
Like Mr Sunak, he also faces questions about his personal wealth and tax affairs.
Ben Wallace
The defence secretary, 52, has narrowly topped some recent polls of Tory grassroots' preferred next leader due to his role in the Ukraine crisis.
The former army officer and Johnson ally has downplayed wanting to lead the party but is seen as a straight-talking and competent.
Nadhim Zahawi
Newly appointed as finance minister, Nadhim Zahawi, 55, was praised for overseeing Britain's pandemic vaccines rollout, before helming the education department.
Mr Zahawi is a former refugee from Iraq who came to Britain as a child speaking no English. Before entering politics, he co-founded the prominent polling company YouGov.
But his private wealth has also drawn adverse attention, including when he claimed parliamentary expenses for heating his horse stables.
Penny Mordaunt
Mordaunt, 49, is the first woman to have been UK defence secretary and is currently a junior trade minister.
The Royal navy reservist is seen as likely to run but considered a long shot.
A strong Brexit supporter and key figure in the 2016 "Leave" campaign, she has been tipped as a potential unity candidate who could draw support from the Conservative party's warring factions.
Dominic Raab
Deputy prime minister and justice secretary Dominic Raab, 48, led the country when Johnson was in intensive care in hospital with COVID-19 in 2020.
The former lawyer and karate black belt is seen as a reliable ally.
But his move to justice from the post of foreign secretary was seen as a demotion after he initially failed to cut short a holiday as the Afghan capital Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Suella Braverman
Attorney General Suella Braverman said she intends to stand in the leadership contest.
The arch-Brexiteer, 42, is another long-shot candidate, popular within the party for her Euroscepticism.
She is one of 28 so-called "Spartan" Tory MPs, who refused to back ex-Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal on all three occasions it was voted on in parliament.
Additional reporting: Reuters
