Third Premier Within Current Parliamentary Term
LONDON: As British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday, the race for a new leadership contest is set to start within a week. This will be the fifth Conservative prime minister in just over six years and the third within this parliamentary term. All eyes are on the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. According to Western media, there are some main runners in the race:
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak is considered the front-runner in the race. He has experience of economic crisis management, having successfully guided the UK through the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also popular among MPs, having secured more votes within Parliament than Truss before the choice between the final candidates was put to the members, and only losing narrowly in the final vote. He gave tough time to Truss in latest fight for the premiership.
Penny Mordaunt
The Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt is another leading candidate. She came third in the last leadership election. Mordaunt is a reservist of the Royal Navy and served a short spell as Secretary of State for Defense. Like Sunak, she is from the more moderate wing of the party and she has moderate views on issues her countries is faced with.
Grant Shapps
Grantc Shapps served as transport secretary under former prime minister Boris Johnson. He put himself forward to succeed him in the previous leadership election – only to withdraw from the race three days later, after failing to secure the requisite 20 MPs’ votes to proceed to the next round. But, this time it seems that he will be back in the race with more power and commitment.
Kemi Badenoch
Badenoch came fourth in this summer’s leadership election – but was consistently rated by pollsters as a favorite among Conservative grassroots members.
One of the younger MPs in the running, Badenoch quickly won the endorsement of long-serving Tory grandee Michael Gove, who praised her as the “outstanding talent” in the party. She comes from the right of the Tory party – and in her previous leadership bid suggested that the government’s climate targets might prove too costly.
Boris Johnson
Former prime minister Boris Jonson could also be an ideal candidate for the job. Multiple allies have made the case that Johnson could be a unity candidate who could bring stability to the country, despite the fact he resigned in disgrace only a few months ago after a series of scandals came together, making his position untenable.
It is reported that Johnson actively lobbied in the hours after Truss’ resignation speech.
In his final speech as prime minister outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson made one of his characteristic allusions to ancient history. He said he would “return to his plough” like the Roman statesman Cincinnatus – suggesting a quieter life on the backbenches. But that’s not how Cincinnatus saw out his days. He was called back from his plough to return to Rome for a second term – this time as a dictator.
Other Runners in the Race
Suella Braverman, who resigned as home secretary on Wednesday, Tom Tugendhat, who is favorite among Tory members, Ben Wallace who formerly served as defense secretary and former prime minister Theresa May are also the potential candidates.
