Raab, Gove and Hancock rule themselves out as Tory race for No10 begins

7 July 2022, 16:47 | Updated: 7 July 2022, 19:16

Tory big beasts Dominic Raab, Michael Gove and Matt Hancock have ruled themselves out of becoming PM as senior Tories begin the battle to replace Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson's resignation has fired the starting gun for a contest to replace him.

He will remain as Prime Minister until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.

Matt Hancock told LBC on Thursday: "I'm not going to be running. I'm not standing.

"It's just a matter of fact, I guess. You can spend your whole life thinking of alternatives, but there's no point in that.

"There's a practical question right now though of who should be the next prime minister, but crucially...the question is what do they need to stand for."

Despite the announcements of Hancock, Raab and Gove, there are plenty of other competitors expected to step into the limelight in coming days to throw their hats in the ring.

Read more: Go now! Tories demand Boris Johnson leaves No10 immediately not wait until Autumn

Ben Wallace

The Defence Secretary has won admirers in Westminster for his straight-talking and straightforward approach, particularly among Tory MPs who pressed for the UK to increase its defence spending.

However, cuts to the size of the army remain a cause for concern.

Mr Wallace, who served in the Scots Guards, remains a key voice in the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, having flown out there on Tuesday evening despite Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resigning.

He has consistently supported Mr Johnson, but has pressed the case for increased defence spending.

Boris Johnson's leadership: A timeline

Rishi Sunak

Quick to follow Sajid Javid in resigning on Tuesday evening, Mr Sunak is perhaps the front-runner, with odds of 7/2 with one bookmaker.

The former Chancellor's rise from relative obscurity to household name came as he turned on the spending taps to protect jobs through the furlough scheme when the Covid pandemic struck.

His calm and measured delivery during TV briefings, and his viral declaration of love for a popular soft drink, will have endeared him to those perhaps not always plugged in to the political goings-on, as well as his resignation on matters of principle on Tuesday.

But his stock took a tumble more recently following disclosures that his wife had non-dom status for tax purposes, and that he was too slow to respond to the cost-of-living crisis.

Penny Mordaunt

Another frontrunner with the bookies - the 5/1 favourite according to one firm - Ms Mordaunt made waves in 2019 as the UK's first female defence secretary before being fired by Mr Johnson shortly after he became Prime Minister.

Ms Mordaunt has many strings to her bow - she is a Royal Navy reservist, the current trade minister and a former reality TV contestant, having appeared on the Tom Daley-fronted diving show Splash.

She played a prominent role in the Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and has previously reportedly enjoyed the backing of Dame Andrea Leadsom among others.

In a YouGov snap poll on Thursday, she almost tied with Rishi Sunak as a potential replacement.

Read more: 'Them's the breaks' Boris Johnson quits 'best job in the world' after Tory revolt
Read more: MPs launch scathing attack on Boris for lack of remorse in 'strange' resignation speech

Potential candidates for new prime minister as Johnson resigns

Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid was first to quit his role as Health Secretary on Tuesday evening, causing chaos in No10.

He further stuck the knife in with an emotional resignation speech in the Commons, with Mr Johnson sat, stony-faced, on the front benches.

State school-educated Mr Javid - known as "The Saj" in some circles - is the son of a bus driver who arrived in England from Pakistan in the 1960s, and held ministerial roles in housing, business and culture before becoming chancellor, and then health secretary in the middle of the pandemic.

Mr Javid made it to the final four in the contest to replace Theresa May as Tory leader in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Mr Johnson.

He told reporters after his resignation on Tuesday evening that he was looking forward to spending time with his family - but for how long?

Liz Truss

The Foreign Secretary has made little secret of her leadership ambitions, with a series of high-profile interventions and photo opportunities in which she appeared to be channelling late PM Margaret Thatcher.

Despite being a fervent Johnson loyalist, she was nowhere to be seen as the Government crumbled around him.

She rushed off to Indonesia for a G20 foreign ministers summit earlier in the week before a quick turn around as Mr Johnson finally gave in to mounting Cabinet pressure.

Her hard line on Ukraine, insisting Russian forces must be driven from the country, and threats to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU play well with sections of the party.

Away from politics, Ms Truss' flair for social media has seen her offer an insight into life outside Westminster by updating her Instagram account with pictures of her relaxing at the beach, or behind the scenes at official events, though her passions combined to bizarre effect in 2014 when her improbably enthusiastic speech about opening pork markets in Beijing went viral.

James O'Brien's sign off for Boris Johnson

Nadhim Zahawi

The former Education Secretary is regarded by some as a "safe pair of hands" if other candidates prove too divisive.

He took on the broadcast round of interviews on Wednesday morning, on his first full day in his new job as Chancellor, before later urging the PM to resign.

Iraqi-born Mr Zahawi was a successful businessman and came to wider prominence as vaccines minister during the pandemic where he was credited with playing a key part in the successful rollout of the jab.

Boris Johnson's resignation speech in full

Jeremy Hunt

The former foreign secretary and ex-health secretary has been a persistent backbench critic of Mr Johnson and has called on the Prime Minister to quit.

Mr Hunt is widely expected to make a fresh bid for the leadership, having been runner-up to Mr Johnson in 2019, and is among the early favourites with bookmakers.

As chairman of the Commons Health Committee, he has used his position to make a number of critical interventions on the Government's handling of the pandemic, although his strong support for lockdown measures will not have pleased all Tory MPs.

Tom Tugendhat

Already winning backbencher support

The polyglot chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee became the first to announce his intention to stand for leader should Mr Johnson be turfed out - with his declaration made in January.

A remainer in 2016, the former soldier has been a critic of Mr Johnson, which appeared to have cost him any chance of ministerial preferment under the current leadership.

He is already winning support form his fellow MPs, with Damian Green having voice his support for him in the leadership battle.

Suella Braverman

The Attorney General launched an unlikely leadership bid as support for Mr Johnson crumbled around him on Wednesday night.

Previously loyal to the departing premier, she told Peston on ITV that he had handled matters "appallingly" in recent days and "the balance has tipped now in favour of saying that the Prime Minister - it pains me to say it - but it's time to go".

Ms Braverman, who was first elected as an MP in 2015, is regarded as something of an outsider for the leadership given the party grandees already tipped to be in the running.

A Suella Braverman for PM Twitter account has sprung up, with Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne becoming the first to tweet his support for her bid.