Rishi Sunak is the favourite to take over if Liz Truss is forced out CREDIT: Reuters/Jamie Lorriman for The Telegraph
The Telegraph
By Nick Gutteridge
Tory MPs are “circulating a smorgasbord” of names for who could replace Liz Truss in No 10, a senior ally of hers has admitted.
Nadine Dorries, a former culture secretary, hit out at colleagues for looking to “foist” a new leader of the country on the public.
Her remarks reflect how Westminster’s tearooms are abuzz with chatter over possible successors to the Prime Minister.
Senior backbenchers have told The Telegraph they want to avoid another “tortuous” leadership contest if Ms Truss is ousted.
That would mean enough Conservative MPs coalescing around a unity candidate to avoid the need to go to the party membership.
Here we look at the runners and riders for the next Tory leader, according to the odds being offered by leading bookmaker Paddy Power.
Rishi Sunak
The former chancellor is the favourite to take over if Ms Truss is forced out, after coming runner up to her in this summer’s leadership contest.
Mr Sunak attracted more support from the parliamentary party than the Prime Minister at the start and won every voting round amongst MPs.
He warned against unfunded tax cuts and has emerged from the chaos that has followed the mini-Budget with an enhanced reputation as a result.
But his economic policies were rejected by members, and replacing Ms Truss with him may be seen as too big a snub to the party faithful.
There would also be question marks over whether the ex-chancellor could reunite the party given the brutal nature of the leadership contest.
Boris Johnson
Some Tory MPs are openly suggesting that the parliamentary party asks the former prime minister to return to Downing Street.
Mr Johnson was ousted by his own backbenchers just three months ago in a wave of anger over the partygate and Chris Pincher scandals.
But now there are those who believe, with the party 30 points behind Labour in the polls, that only he can win them the next election.
The former prime minister has remained silent since leaving No 10 and it is unclear whether he would be interested in going back.
He is hugely popular among members but remains deeply divisive with MPs and as such may not fit the bill for a unity candidate.
Penny Mordaunt
The Leader of the Commons was pipped to the last two by Ms Truss during the final round of leadership voting among MPs this summer.
She was the surprise package of the early part of the contest and ran a campaign that was praised by many colleagues.
After being knocked out she threw her weight behind Ms Truss but has since taken on the Prime Minister over uprating benefits in line with inflation.
Ms Mordaunt, a former defence secretary, also caused a stir at Tory conference earlier this month when she said the party’s “comms is s—”. She is said to be “restarting her campaign” for leader, according to The Times, but some Tory MPs have said there are doubts over what she stands for.
Kemi Badenoch
The International Trade Secretary was widely seen to have significantly enhanced her burgeoning reputation with her leadership bid this summer.
She rose from relative obscurity to come fourth in the rounds of MPs voting and won plenty of admirers within the party along the way.
Ms Badenoch, known as a warrior against “woke” culture, is popular with the grass roots and topped several members’ polls during the race.
After being knocked out she remained neutral, although expressed her admiration for Ms Truss as a “maverick” who gets things done.
But she is very inexperienced, having become an MP for the first time in 2017 and only taking on her first Cabinet role this summer.
Ben Wallace
The Defence Secretary is being touted by Tory MPs as the most obvious unity candidate and a leader who would be popular with the public.
He stayed neutral in the leadership race for a long time, eventually rowing in behind Ms Truss and being rewarded by keeping his job.
The former soldier is widely respected for the role he has played in the UK’s support for Ukraine and is seen as a centrist within the party.
But there are doubts over whether he would want the job, having decided not to run last time to shield his family from the glare of being in No 10.
He is also relatively inexperienced at the top level. His only Cabinet post has been Defence Secretary, which he has held since July 2019.
James Cleverly
The Foreign Secretary was a loyal supporter of Mr Johnson and came out strongly in support of Ms Truss from the very beginning.
He briefly ran for leader in 2019 but pulled out ahead of the MPs voting stage and threw his weight behind the former prime minister instead.
A former chairman of the party, he is seen as a moderate and a safe pair of hands having held numerous ministerial posts over the years.
He has held four top jobs, including a brief stint as education secretary, but has spent a combined total of less than 18 months in Cabinet.
Mr Cleverly expressed dissatisfaction with the drawn-out nature of this summer’s leadership contest, suggesting they should be shortened in future.