Thursday, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after facing criticism from inside her own party over her management of the economy and the departure of key cabinet members. To succeed Truss, who held office for the shortest period of time in British history, an election will be conducted within the next week.
As the party is so deeply divided, there is no clear frontrunner, and the nation is certain to enter a recession regardless of who is elected. The following are some of the most prominent candidates of UK Prime Minister position:
Rishi Sunak
Despite losing to Liz Truss previously, the Indian-origin MP is still widely seen as a strong contender by many members of his own party. Rishi Sunak has previously argued that Truss's £30bn proposal for unfunded tax cuts would cause "misery for millions" back in August.
During a leadership campaign earlier this year, Britain's former finance minister received the most votes from Conservative MPs in Westminster. However, despite making it to a run-off versus Truss, he ultimately lost the election to the latter.
Sunak's departure in July infuriated many in the group, which contributed to the uprising that ultimately toppled Boris Johnson. They disregarded his warning that investor confidence in Britain may plummet if Truss enacted her unfunded tax cuts.
Sunak is now the betting favourite to succeed Truss, but Johnson loyalists in the legislature would likely fight against him.
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Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson, who was succeeded by Lizz Trust as prime minister, is also a candidate for the position. Following years of disrupting the administrations of David Cameron and Theresa May, he was elected prime minister in 2019 and promptly won an overwhelming majority in the general election.
As the public face of the Brexit campaign, Johnson was able to sway voters in areas that had previously never supported the Conservative Party. However, a series of controversies ultimately led to his resignation.
Penny Mordaunt
During the current leadership race, former defence secretary and staunch leave-the-EU advocate Mordaunt came up just short of making it to the final runoff between the top two candidates.
Mordaunt's appearance in parliament on Monday was well praised for her defence of the administration despite the rollback of most of its objectives.
One MP has referred to Mordaunt's "broad appeal," or the fact that she has friends across the party's many sections.
Jeremy Hunt
After the failure of Truss' economic policy and the subsequent dismissal of her finance minister, she enlisted the help of Hunt, a former health and foreign minister, to restore order.
Some members of the Conservative Party have already begun referring to Hunt as the "true prime minister" after he delivered a string of assured performances on television and in the House of Commons, tearing through Truss's economic agenda.
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Despite running for prime minister twice before and losing in the last round both times to former prime minister Boris Johnson, he maintains that he is not interested in the position. Hunt does not seem to have the backing of the majority of parliamentarians.
Ben Wallace
Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson is one of the few cabinet members whose reputation has strengthened in the wake of recent political turbulence in Britain. Wallace, a veteran who served under both Johnson and Truss as defence minister, oversaw the British reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Although he had widespread support inside the party, early this year he stunned many by announcing that he would not be seeking the party's leadership position. His desire to remain in his position as defence secretary was recently expressed in an interview with the Times newspaper.
