Runners and riders in the leadership race: 10 potential candidates

LONDON: Theresa May’s resignation speech has fired the starting gun on the official Tory leadership race, by setting a departure date of June 7.

The unofficial race has been running for weeks as her premiership sputtered to a halt, with the final nail in the coffin being the Cabinet revolt over her latest Brexit deal and the Withdrawal Agreement Bill being ditched against her wishes.Here are the top 10 runners and riders vying to take on the mantle of Conservative leader by winning over Tory MPs and grassroots members.

Boris Johnson: Former foreign secretary and London mayor Johnson, 54, is considered by most as the favourite to win the leadership race (Ladbrokes odds 5/4). Easily recognisable thanks to his popularity on comedy TV shows, he nearly beat Theresa May to the top job in 2016, until his colleague Michael Gove decided to scupper his chances.

Since then, Johnson has burnished his Leave credentials by walking out of Cabinet alongside David Davis in July last year, and has also cleared the decks on a notoriously complicated personal life. He has already confirmed he will stand, telling a business event “of course I’m going to go for it”.

Dominic Raab: Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has refused to rule out standing in a leadership contest and has a semi-official Ready for Raab Twitter account ready for a leadership bid (William Hill odds 9/2). The 44-year-old MP for Esher and Walton was a prominent Brexiteer in the referendum campaign and May appointed him as her second Brexit secretary in July, but he quit the role in November, saying he could not support her eventual deal. Andrea Leadsom: Former Leader of the House of Commons, Leadsom, said she was “seriously considering” running for the Conservative leadership before she quit her role on Wednesday. Her refusal to bring the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to the Commons could be seen as the final nail in the coffin for May’s premiership and was widely interpreted as positioning for a leadership bid (Bet365 odds 14/1).

Michael Gove: Gove has been working to resuscitate trust among colleagues since he wielded the knife against Boris Johnson in the previous leadership contest, despite being his campaign manager. He withdrew his support on the morning that Johnson was due to declare, and threw his own hat in the ring instead, but trailed behind ultimate winner Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom after the first round of voting. Since then, he has made some memorable Commons appearances, notably in defence of Mrs May’s deal, and has a reputation for mastering complicated briefs (William Hill odds 9/1).

Jeremy Hunt: The Foreign Secretary, 52, campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum and would be a moderate candidate on Brexit in the leadership election (Ladbrokes odds 10/1). The MP for South West Surrey did not run in the previous contest, instead backing Mrs May, and he was one of the last Cabinet members she met in Downing Street.

Penny Mordaunt: Mordaunt became the UK’s first female Defence Secretary at the start of the month, following the sacking of Gavin Williamson (Bet365 odds of 20/1). She has been named by Jacob Rees-Mogg as one of his favoured candidates and has a higher public profile than most due to her 2014 appearance on reality TV show Splash!

Sajid Javid: Home Secretary Sajid Javid signalled his leadership ambitions by arguing that he wanted the Tories to be the party of social mobility, in an interview with the Spectator (Ladbrokes odds 20/1). He is expected to be a popular candidate, with policies including his hard stance on the return of Shamima Begum, the former Bethnal Green schoolgirl who joined Islamic State, boosting his position among some colleagues.

Rory Stewart: New International Development secretary Rory Stewart was promoted from prisons minister at the start of this month when Penny Mordaunt was promoted (Paddypower odds 20/1). He began his leadership bid in an interview with The Spectator last month, saying: “If you want someone who really enjoys doing stuff and loves government and is really proud of the country and feel that’s their thing, I’m really enthusiastic.”

Matt Hancock: Health Secretary Matt Hancock, 40, has refused to rule himself out and said he has a “strong view about the sort of leader we need” (Betfred odds 50/1). Known for being close to George Osborne and David Cameron, he has said the new leader should put the Tories “four square in the centre ground”.

James Cleverly: He was appointed Brexit minister in April this year, following a stint as Conservative party deputy chairman (Betfair odds 66/1). He strongly hinted that he would make a leadership bid at an unofficial hustings held by the Telegraph earlier this week.