Conservative party leadership battle: who could replace Theresa May?

Boris Johnson Former foreign secretary

Mr Johnson, 54, starts this contest as the clear favourite. The expected strong performance by Nigel Farage’s Brexit party in the European Parliament election means Conservative activists see “Boris”, the figurehead of the 2016 referendum’s Leave campaign, as the one candidate who can “out-Farage Farage”. With his tousled blond hair, he is one of the most instantly recognisable politicians in Britain. If he makes the final two in the leadership contest, he will probably win. His strong commitment to a hard “Canada-style” Brexit is critical to his support among Tory activists. However, Mr Johnson has weaknesses. He was a popular mayor of London but his ruthless obsession with becoming prime minister has turned him into a “Marmite” figure at Westminster — liked and disliked in equal measure. Several Tory MPs have said they will leave the party if he is elected leader. Mr Johnson earned a poor reputation across the EU as foreign secretary. His appointment as prime minister would probably harden the stance of some European leaders against offering the UK another extension of the Article 50 divorce process beyond October 31.

Michael Gove Environment secretary

Alongside Boris Johnson, Mr Gove, 51, was one of the leading figures in the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum. He is still best known in Britain for his record as education secretary, when he implemented sweeping reforms of standards and structures that were disliked by many teachers and parents. Although he has one of the sharpest minds in the cabinet, he said during the referendum campaign that the British public had had “enough of experts”. Mr Gove has developed a reputation for betraying his allies after destabilising both David Cameron, the former prime minister, and Mr Johnson. Mr Gove has portrayed himself as firm on Brexit but has more potential to unite the Conservative party than Mr Johnson. In his current job as environment secretary, he appears to have become convinced that the UK must avoid a no-deal Brexit.

Sajid Javid Home secretary

The 49-year-old former banker has made no secret of his ambition to become party leader. Many Conservative MPs also see the son of a Pakistani bus driver as a figure who proves that a person from the most modest background can climb to the top of the party. An acolyte of former chancellor George Osborne, he was business secretary in the Cameron government. He voted Remain in the 2016 referendum but has since tried to burnish his credentials as a Brexiter by taking a tough line on immigration. As home secretary, he controversially revoked the British citizenship of Shamima Begum, the London schoolgirl who fled to join Isis in Syria but then asked to return to the UK.

Jeremy Hunt Foreign secretary

Mr Hunt, 52, was a passionate Remainer before the 2016 referendum and, like Mr Javid, has since tried to build a reputation with the Tory rank-and-file as a committed Brexiter. Last year, he compared the EU to the former Soviet Union in a speech to the Conservative conference, for which he was heavily criticised. More recently, on a trip to Slovenia — formerly part of Yugoslavia — he made a gaffe by saying the country was once “a Soviet vassal state”. Most of his cabinet career has been as health secretary, where he engaged in tough battles with medical unions and professional bodies. His conversion from Remainer to Brexiter has left some Tory MPs suspicious over what he really stands for. His leadership pitch will be that he is committed to Brexit but can unite the party.

Dominic Raab Former Brexit secretary

Mr Raab is a committed Eurosceptic who was appointed Brexit secretary by Mrs May last July. His resignation from the cabinet over her Brexit deal in November will have boosted his chances of winning the leadership in the eyes of some Tory MPs and activists. A lawyer by training, the 45-year-old Mr Raab was widely mocked last year after he admitted that he “hadn’t quite understood” how reliant the UK was on the Dover-Calais crossing for its trade in goods. He has been among the fiercest critics of Mrs May’s Brexit deal. The question for Mr Raab is what he offers to the Conservative party that Mr Johnson does not.

Amber Rudd Work and pensions secretary

Ms Rudd was one of the leading Remainers during the 2016 referendum. Widely admired by Conservative MPs, the 55-year-old former investment banker became home secretary in 2016 after just six years in the Commons. She was forced to resign last year over the treatment of the “Windrush generation” of Caribbean immigrants. It later became clear that Ms Rudd had been let down by officials in her department and she re-entered the cabinet in November as work and pensions secretary. Ms Rudd would run as a One Nation figure who can bring the country together after the divisions of the May years. If elected, she would be a prime minister firmly against a no-deal Brexit. But many party activists see her as too soft a Brexiter.

Matt Hancock, Health secretary

At 40, Mr Hancock is the youngest member of the cabinet. Although he was a close acolyte of former chancellor George Osborne, Mrs May appointed him to her cabinet, first as culture secretary in January 2018 and then, last July, as health secretary. Although Mr Hancock backed Remain in the 2016 election, he firmly supported Mrs May’s Brexit plan from within cabinet. As health secretary, he has been heavily engaged in planning for a no-deal Brexit. Mr Hancock could become a frontrunner if Conservative MPs decide they need a new face at the top.

Other potential candidates include Liz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury; Andrea Leadsom, who recently resigned as leader of the Commons; Penny Mordaunt, defence secretary; Esther McVey, former minister; and Rory Stewart, international development secretary.