Now, with the shattered government, bookmakers and much of the UK are speculating on their likely successor. All candidates running for office will go through Conservative legislature voting rounds until there are only two left, at which point Conservative Party members will vote across the country. The winner will be the new party leader and prime minister.
Here’s a look at potential competitors.
Rishi Sunak
The former chancellor was Johnson’s alleged successor for several months after earning praise for overseeing the UK’s initial financial response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But he has suffered several of his own scandals while in government.
Sunak’s shares collapsed earlier this year following revelations that it broke Covid’s regulations to attend the prime minister’s birthday party on June 19, 2020, for which he later apologized “without reservations “.
His financial and legal affairs were scrutinized this spring following reports that his wife was not domiciled in the UK, meaning she was not required to pay income tax abroad, and that she had a green card of the United States while serving as a minister.
Its popularity has also been beaten in recent weeks, as Britain has suffered the worst cost of living crisis in decades. Sunak has struggled to keep inflation spiraling and has been criticized by opposition parties for what they call a series of slow and inadequate financial measures. Among the economic problems facing the British after Sunak’s time as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: real wages fell to their lowest levels in more than 21 years and inflation peaked at 40 years of 9.1% in May. But it is still among the bookmakers. the odds of favorites to take Johnson’s job.
Sajid Javid
“Again this week, we have reason to question the truth and integrity of what we have all been told. At some point, we must conclude that it is enough,” the former Secretary of Health in the House of Commons said on Wednesday. Common, in reference. to the appointment and allegations linked to Pincher.
Something is “fundamentally wrong” with the government, he added, and “the problem starts from the top.”
Although Javid’s resignation speech sounded much like an argument for the prime minister, describing how to reshape the party for future generations, it is still unclear whether it will be presented.
But those who support Javid’s candidacy hope that he will be blamed for causing the final removal of Johnson, after he was the prime minister in the cabinet to resign, although Sunak followed him minutes later.
The MP has twice run for party leadership in the past: in 2016, after the Brexit referendum, and in 2019, when Johnson was finally elected.
Liz Truss
The Foreign Minister, who has unveiled her leadership ambitions in recent years, could now occupy the pole position. Liz Truss voted Remain in 2016, but has since become one of the government’s highest Eurosceptic voices, which many attribute to her desire to get the best job.
She has a formidable and dedicated team around her, some of whom had previously worked at number 10, who has been producing elegant videos and photos of her with a totally statist look. Apparently, he has tried to channel former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was wearing a headscarf while driving a tank, and her role in responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has also raised her public profile.
Truss is popular among Conservative members, who would choose the eventual winner of a contest. But Johnson’s downfall could simultaneously litter anyone in his cabinet, meaning conservative voters could turn to a deputy to take the mantle.
Last month, a source working in the Foreign Ministry told CNN that Truss had held “endless meetings with parliamentarians” and that “it has been hinted that he is seeing what his base of support is, if the time comes.” “. Truss’s office denied that any covert leadership offer was coming.
Penny Mordaunt
The Commerce Secretary is one of the bookmakers ’favorites to replace Johnson. A poll of party members published on July 4 by the Conservative Home website ranked it as the second preferred option, behind current Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace.
Mordaunt first entered parliament in 2010 and later joined Theresa May’s cabinet, acting as secretary of development and international defense.
After last month’s vote of confidence, Penny Mordaunt declined to comment on whether she supported Johnson, and raised her eyebrows among Westminster observers when she said, “I didn’t choose this prime minister.”
Tom Tugendhat
Tom Tugendhat, a former British military official who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, has been one of Johnson’s staunchest critics and has called on the Conservative Party to stop focusing on “divisive politics”. Tugendhat wrote: “I have served before, in the army, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as Prime Minister. It is time for a clean start. It is time for renewal.”
He set out his vision for tackling the cost of living crisis, reducing taxes and investing in abandoned regions of the UK.
Despite having no cabinet or shadowy cabinet experience, Tugendhat has impressed his colleagues with his oratory skills and seriousness, especially when he spoke of the fall of Afghanistan. He entered parliament in 2015 after serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Some key central conservatives have already given their support behind the relative wildcard, but some worry that their experience is too focused on foreign affairs.
Nadhim Zahawi
Less than two days after he was appointed chancellor, replacing Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi publicly asked Johnson to resign. “Do the right thing and go now,” he said in a Twitter statement accompanying a letter to the prime minister.
Until his promotion, Zahawi, who joined the cabinet less than a year ago, was considered an unlikely option as the next prime minister. But his rise under Johnson has been rapid, leaving his mark with early success as a vaccine minister amid the coronavirus pandemic and then as secretary of education.
Although in 2016 he voted to leave the European Union, Zahawi is much admired among party moderates. Crucially, as one Conservative source said, “it doesn’t take long for the government to have any obvious flaws and, despite supporting Boris even after the vote of confidence, it is not too tainted by the association.” .
Zahawi was born in Iraq to Kurdish parents and came to the United Kingdom at the age of 9, when his family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime. He is believed to be one of the richest politicians in the House of Commons and helped found the polling company YouGov.
Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt, former Secretary of Health and Foreign Affairs, lost the 2019 leadership vote to Johnson. Since then, he has presented himself as an antidote to Johnson and is arguably the highest-profile candidate for the moderate and ex-Remain party.
In a statement on Twitter ahead of the June vote of confidence, Hunt said: “Anyone who believes that our country is stronger, fairer and more prosperous when led by conservatives should reflect that the consequence of not changing it will be handing over the country to others who do not share these values. Today’s decision is to change or lose. I will vote for change. “
Hunt’s statement focused primarily on the Conservatives’ chances of electoral success under Johnson, rather than on his policies or the party scandal, a decision that could be read as a presentation to Conservative MPs and members who will decide a leadership choice. However, it comes with luggage, and opposition Labor Party sources have told CNN that they are already writing lines of attack.
“It can’t be Jeremy. Labor can say he was in charge of health care for six years and wasn’t prepared for a pandemic. They can say that when he was secretary of culture he became associated with the Murdochs during the scandal. “Phone piracy will be crushed,” a conservative source told CNN.
Other possible contenders
Ben Wallace: Since he was appointed Secretary of Defense in 2019, Ben Wallace has earned praise for his handling of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. A former Army captain, Wallace has managed to avert the scandal and has led the recent Conservative Home poll on Johnson’s possible successors. But it’s still unclear if he wants the job. He declined to comment on whether he would show up while talking to reporters Thursday. Michael Gove: The minister in charge of Johnson’s flagship agenda “Leveling Up” aimed at transforming the forgotten communities of the United Kingdom, Michael Gove was fired from the cabinet after urging Johnson to resign. Gove worked closely with Johnson on the Vote Leave campaign in 2016 before derailing his candidacy by running against him as party leader, a move he last month called a “mistake.” He has said he would not run again, but if the past is a clue he could change his mind. Steve Baker: The anti-green MP, who heads the European Research Group which is credited with starting a tough Brexit, has confirmed that he is considering running as prime minister. Steve Baker told the Guardian that if he won, he would dismantle environmental policies and increase the country’s use and national gas production. Suella Braverman: The Attorney General has stated her intention to enter a future competition. In an interview with ITV, Suella Braverman called for Johnson to leave and said he would join a leadership race to replace him, saying “it would be the greatest honor.”
CNN’s Jorge Engels in London contributed to this report.