Tory MPs are beginning to declare their intention to stand in the party’s leadership contest following Boris Johnson’s resignation on Thursday, while some senior ministers and ex-ministers have already ruled themselves out.
Attorney general Suella Braverman is the only cabinet minister who has entered the running so far, while chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, is the latest to confirm that he will stand.
Tugendhat wrote in Friday’s Daily Telegraph that he would bring “new energy and ideas” to government and pledged to bring the tax burden on UK households down.
He said: “I have served before - in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister.”
Elsewhere, backbencher and former Brexit minister Steve Baker has also said that he is “seriously considering” standing having been asked to do so. Fellow backbenchers Rehman Chishti and John Baron are others who have told the BBC that they are considering entering.
It is reported that former health secretary Sajid Javid - one of the nigh 60 Conservatives to have resigned from their roles in recent days – is considering mounting a leadership bid, as is transport secretary, Grant Shapps.
Former cabinet minister, Jeremy Hunt, is also considering entering the running, with the BBC reporting that he is attracting large volumes of support from colleagues.
Hunt was unsuccessful in the running for the Tory leadership in 2019, losing to Boris Johnson in the race to succeed Theresa May. Hunt subsequently declined the offer to serve in Johnson's cabinet and has since chaired the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss, former chancellor Rishi Sunak and defence secretary Ben Wallace, have not declared at the time of writing but are tipped to stand according to reports.
Elsewhere, Deputy PM Dominic Raab and former levelling-up secretary Michael Gove have said that they will not be running, as has ex-health secretary Matt Hancock.
The timetable for the leadership contest will be set out by the 1922 Committee next week. Boris Johnson has already made his intentions clear that he plans to stay on until the autumn, while the race to succeed him is held.
While the new Conservative leader and new prime minister of the UK is expected to be in place by September, some of Johnson’s critics have insisted that he leave immediately and hand power over to an interim PM.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have both said that Labour will try to force a vote of no-confidence in Johnson next week to remove him from Downing Street more promptly, but such a move would require the support of Conservatives if it were to happen.
Meanwhile, Johnson has already brought in new cabinet ministers to allow government to function in the short-term and newly appointed education secretary, James Cleverly, has played down the idea that a “caretaker” prime minister needs to be appointed.
1922 Committee treasurer, Sir Geoffrey Clinton-Brown, separately said: “We must now live with the fact that Boris Johnson will be prime minister until a successor can be voted on.”
Johnson himself has said that there will be no “major changes of direction” during his waning days in Downing Street, while addressing his new cabinet on Thursday.
Photo by Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC - Photo on Wikimedia Commons
