Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, Or...: Here's Who Could Be Next UK PM As Liz Truss Exits

United Kingdom PM Race: A poll of Conservative party members showed that most of them wanted Johnson to return, but betting odds have Sunak as the favourite. Know all about it.

File Photo of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Britain's ex Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Suna.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: The Conservative Party is set to elect a new Prime Minister for the United Kingdom by October 28, the country's fifth in six years after Liz Truss quit on Thursday after her economic programme severely impacted the UK's financial stability and economy.

Liz Truss's tenure is the shortest, most chaotic tenure of any British prime minister, however, even after her resignation, the Conservative Party need not call a nationwide election for another two years as it holds a big majority in parliament.

The fresh contest is likely to pit UK's former finance minister Rishi Sunak against Penny Mordaunt, but a return of Boris Johnson is also being suspected after his ouster as prime minister in July when his ministers resigned en masse to force him out of office.

Contenders In British PM's Race

Rishi Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, served as Britain's finance minister just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Europe. He has been proven right in cautioning that Truss's fiscal plan threatened to adversely impact the economy. However, according to a report by news agency Reuters, he continues to be deeply unpopular with some Conservatives for helping trigger the July rebellion against Johnson.

As per the report, former defence minister Penny Mordaunt could also be a contender. Other names include Suella Braverman, the interior minister who quit Wednesday, and trade minister Kemi Badenoch.

While former PM Boris Johnson still faces an investigation into whether he misled parliament on having a string of parties during COVID-19 lockdowns, he still could return to hold the post as he continues to garner some support.

"I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back," one Conservative lawmaker, James Duddridge, wrote on Twitter, adding "#bringbackboris".

According to Reuters, a poll of party members showed that most of them wanted Johnson to return, but betting odds have Sunak as the favourite, ahead of Mordaunt and defence minister Ben Wallace.

Any candidate would need the backing of 100 lawmakers. If only one candidate passes that threshold by 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Monday they will automatically become prime minister, Reuters reported organisers as saying. If two candidates remain, party members will get an online vote, the report mentioned.