Two names are seen as the absolute favorites to be Britain’s next prime minister. But the man who resigned just about a month and a half ago might as well throw his hat in the ring: Boris Johnson.
Liz Truss announced her resignation as British prime minister on Thursday. Next week there will be an election in his Conservative Party on the succession. As the party is sharply divided, there is currently no clear favorite for the post. Here is an overview of the candidates currently traded:
Rishi Sunak
The former finance minister was the most popular candidate among conservative lawmakers in the party leadership elections earlier this year. After defeating Truss in a second round, he subsequently lost in a vote attended by around 170,000 party members who had the final say. Many members were still angry that Sunak resigned in July and thus significantly contributed to the demise of then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They also ignored his warning that financial markets could lose confidence in the UK if Truss implemented its unfunded tax cuts. On the Betfair betting exchange, Sunak is traded as the favorite to succeed Truss.
Penny Mordaunt
The former defense minister was a passionate advocate of leaving the European Union. She narrowly lost the second round of the party leadership against Truss and Sunak. Mordaunt won plaudits for his appearance in Parliament on Monday, defending the government despite the government reversing much of its policy. Lawmakers trust her to unite the divided party.
Jeremy Hunt
After Truss’ economic program failed and she fired her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, she turned to Hunt. The former Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs was supposed to get the country’s finances, which had spiraled out of control, back in order. A series of assertive television and House of Commons appearances, tearing up Truss’ economic agenda, has already led some Conservative lawmakers to call Hunt the “real prime minister”. He has run for prime minister twice, including in 2019 when he lost to future prime minister Boris Johnson in the last round. But Hunt is said to have already given up this time.
Ben Wallace
The defense secretary is one of the few ministers to emerge from the recent political turmoil with renewed credibility. The former soldier was Defense Secretary to Johnson and Truss and led Britain’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Much loved by party members, he surprised many earlier this year when he said he didn’t want to run for party presidency and would instead focus on his current job.
Boris Johnson
The former prime minister had a big influence on British politics after becoming mayor of London in 2008. After putting government leaders like David Cameron and Theresa May in trouble, he ended up becoming prime minister in 2019 and then got a landslide electoral victory. Johnson was the face of the Brexit vote, winning votes in parts of the country that had never voted Conservative. But he was forced out of office by a series of scandals. People close to him said that at the moment he is more interested in making money by talking than in returning to the front ranks of politics. According to The Times, however, he could throw his hat in the ring again.
(Portal)