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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/16/tory-leadership-contenders-whos-up-whos-down-replace-theresa-may
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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Tory leadership race: the favourites to replace May | Tory leadership race: the favourites to replace May |
| (1 day later) | |
| With Theresa May having announced her resignation, you can barely move in Westminster without bumping into a minister making a “wide-ranging” speech spelling out their merits and political philosophy. Here are the candidates who have said they are definitely running and others who may enter the fray in the coming days. | |
| Declared candidates | |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
| The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots – polling for the Times showed he is the first choice of 39% of them, with Dominic Raab trailing him on 13% – that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate. | The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots – polling for the Times showed he is the first choice of 39% of them, with Dominic Raab trailing him on 13% – that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate. |
| Odds: 5/4 favourite | Odds: 5/4 favourite |
| Dominic Raab | Dominic Raab |
| Few things say “would-be leader in waiting” like a kitchen photoshoot with your spouse, and the former Brexit secretary duly obliged with this image awash with tasteful pastel hues. He formally launched his bid in the Mail on Sunday. | |
| Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed. | Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed. |
| Odds: 4/1 | Odds: 4/1 |
| Michael Gove | Michael Gove |
| The environment secretary is to pitch himself as a “unity candidate” capable of attracting leavers and remainers, as he formally declared his candidacy saying: “I believe that I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country.” | |
| But robust Brexiters in particular dislike the fact he has stayed loyal even in the final days of the crumbling May regime. | |
| Odds: 10/1 | Odds: 10/1 |
| Andrea Leadsom | Andrea Leadsom |
| The former House of Commons leader, who left Theresa May as the last candidate standing when she pulled out of the previous leadership race in 2016, has decided to have another tilt at the top job, saying she has the “experience and confidence” to “lead this country into a brighter future”. | |
| But even with her staunch Brexiter tendencies, she would be seen as an outsider. | But even with her staunch Brexiter tendencies, she would be seen as an outsider. |
| Odds: 10/1 | Odds: 10/1 |
| Jeremy Hunt | Jeremy Hunt |
| Fears that the foreign secretary would be another overly woolly compromise choice – were hardly assuaged when after a set-piece speech he seemed unable to outline why his brand of Conservatism might appeal to voters. | |
| Odds: 12/1 | Odds: 12/1 |
| Matt Hancock | Matt Hancock |
| The health secretary remains a relative outsider, but the longer the race goes on, the more he gains ground for the seemingly basic virtues of being apparently competent and broadly similar to a normal human being, albeit a particularly energetic one. | The health secretary remains a relative outsider, but the longer the race goes on, the more he gains ground for the seemingly basic virtues of being apparently competent and broadly similar to a normal human being, albeit a particularly energetic one. |
| A concerted effort would probably require an image consultant. | A concerted effort would probably require an image consultant. |
| Odds: 33/1 | Odds: 33/1 |
| Rory Stewart | |
| The cabinet’s most recent arrival – Mordaunt’s promotion to defence led to Stewart becoming international development secretary – certainly has the necessary ambition and self-belief, plus a privileged if unorthodox backstory covering Eton, Oxford, a senior role in postwar Iraq and a bestselling book about walking across Afghanistan. He remains an outsider, not least because of his remain tendencies and slightly 2010 view of compassionate Conservatism. | |
| Odds: 25/1 | |
| Esther McVey | |
| The former work and pensions secretary, who quit last year over May’s Brexit plans, has launched her own in-party campaign group/leadership vehicle called Blue Collar Conservatism, promising to make the party more amenable to voters in deprived communities – mainly through a promise to deliver a strong Brexit and policies such as diverting much of the foreign aid budget to schools and police. | |
| Odds: 50/1 | |
| Possible candidates | |
| Sajid Javid | |
| The home secretary still has the same weaknesses: he is an uninspiring speaker and some worry he is too fond of headline-grabbing, illiberal political gestures. But he is almost as ubiquitous as Liz Truss, and clearly believes this is his time. | |
| He even has a grassroots/astroturf Twitter feed – “Avid4Javid”. | |
| Odds: 20/1 | |
| Sir Graham Brady | Sir Graham Brady |
| While hugely influential within the Conservative party, he is little known outside it. Brady stood down as the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs shortly after May’s announcement and later confirmed that he was considering running, saying he had been approached by several Tory colleagues. | While hugely influential within the Conservative party, he is little known outside it. Brady stood down as the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs shortly after May’s announcement and later confirmed that he was considering running, saying he had been approached by several Tory colleagues. |
| Odds: 20/1 | Odds: 20/1 |
| Penny Mordaunt | Penny Mordaunt |
| Previously seen as a definite outsider, her promotion from international development secretary to defence after the sacking of Gavin Williamson has significantly bolstered her position. | Previously seen as a definite outsider, her promotion from international development secretary to defence after the sacking of Gavin Williamson has significantly bolstered her position. |
| As both a confirmed Brexiter and a social liberal, she could unite different camps, but Mordaunt remains relatively untested. | As both a confirmed Brexiter and a social liberal, she could unite different camps, but Mordaunt remains relatively untested. |
| Odds: 20/1 | Odds: 20/1 |
| James Brokenshire | James Brokenshire |
| A not entirely serious place in the list for the housing and communities secretary, who insists he is not standing, for the achievement of gaining unexpected prominence simply through owning four ovens. | A not entirely serious place in the list for the housing and communities secretary, who insists he is not standing, for the achievement of gaining unexpected prominence simply through owning four ovens. |
| Leadership bids have been made and lost on less. | Leadership bids have been made and lost on less. |
| Odds: 200/1 | Odds: 200/1 |
| All odds via Ladbrokes | All odds via Ladbrokes |
| All odds via Ladbrokes | All odds via Ladbrokes |
| Not running | |
| Liz Truss | |
| The chief secretary to the Treasury has ruled herself out, but told the Sunday Telegraph: “We need someone who has backed Brexit from the start.” | |
| Amber Rudd | |
| The work and pensions secretary says “I don’t think it is my time at the moment”, but has hinted she would be prepared to work with Johnson. | |
| Conservative leadership | Conservative leadership |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| explainers | explainers |
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