Tory leadership runners and riders: FULL LIST of everyone running as next prime minister
THERESA MAY officially steps down as the Conservative Party leader tomorrow but will continue to run the country as Prime Minister until a replacement is chosen. Who are the likely candidates to stand as the next prime minister?
Tory leadership race: Who are the contenders so far?
Conservative MPs have announced their bids to replace Theresa May as Tory party leader and prime minister ever since she confirmed she would be stepping down. There are eleven confirmed candidates and a handful more expected to announce they wish to stand before the deadline of the week commencing June 10. Here is a full list of all the contenders and some who are believed to be seriously considering throwing their hats into the ring.
Michael Gove: CONFIRMED BID
Environment secretary Michael Gove has been an MP for Surrey Heath since 2005.
He was a key ally of former Prime Minister David Cameron before joining the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 EU referendum.
He made his name as a radical education secretary and famously scuppered the leadership hopes of Brexiteer Boris Johnson in the aftermath of the referendum by announcing his own candidature on the same morning as Mr Johnson was due to announce, saying that Mr Johnson was not up for it.
Sam Gyimah: CONFIRMED BID
Sam Gyimah, the former universities and science minister, has been an MP for East Surrey since 2010.
He served under both David Cameron and Theresa May, but resigned over the government’s Brexit deal last year.
He is backing a second referendum as part of his leadership bid with two questions: Leave or Remain and Theresa May’s deal or No deal Brexit.
Matt Hancock: CONFIRMED BID
Matt Hancock is the MP for West Suffolk and was promoted to health secretary after a few months as culture secretary.
He campaigned for Remain during the EU referendum but is now seen as an ally for brexiteer ministers.
He likes to think of himself as technology-savvy and was the first MP to have his own smartphone app - he has said that he hopes to appeal to younger votes.
Mark Harper: CONFIRMED BID
Mark Harper is the MP for the Forest of Dean and was a minister in the Home Office and Departmet of Work and Pensions from 2010-2015.
He backed Remain in 2016 but now says he wants the UK to leave with a deal, although admits that leaving without one is still an option.
Mr Harper is a former immigration minister but resigned in 2014 after it emerged that his cleaner did not have permission to work in the UK.
Jeremy Hunt: CONFIRMED BID
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt worked for six years at the Department of Health prior to his move to the foreign office.
He campaigned for the Remain camp during the EU referendum vote, but has since thrown his support to the Brexiteer MPs, even comparing the EU to the Soviet Union.
Mr Hunt was elected as an MP in 2005 and was made the culture 2010, before moving to the health department in 2012.
Sajid Javid: CONFIRMED BID
Home secretary Sajid Javid is a second-generation migrant whose parents came from Pakistan.T
The former business secretary, culture secretary and communities and local government secretary backed Remain during the referendum but was openly Eurosceptic.
He worked as a credit trader with Deutsche Bank before entering politics where he was a former protege of George Osbourne at the Treasury and an MP since 2010.
Boris Johnson: CONFIRMED BID
Former mayor of London and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was the face of the Vote Leave campaign.
He quit as foreign secretary last year and has been a loud critic of Theresa May and her policies ever since.
He stepped back from the 2016 leadership fight after fellow brexiteer Michael Gove launched his own campaign for the job.
Andrea Leadsom: CONFIRMED BID
Prominent Brexiteer and former Commons leader Andrew Leadsom quit the cabinet as Mrs May endeavoured to gain support for her withdrawal agreement saying that she did not beleive in the government’s approach.
She stepped back from the leadership bid in 2016 after widely criticised comments about rival Theresa May were made.
But she still has support on the right of the party.
Esther McVey: CONFIRMED BID
Former TV presenter and Brexiteer Esther McVey quit as work and pensions secretary in November in protest at Mrs May’s Brexit deal.
She spoke about whether she would run for leader on Talk Radio, saying she would run if she had the support.
The MP for Tatton was the first to confirm she would stand for party leadership.
Dominic Raab: CONFIRMED BID
Staunch Brexiteer Dominic Raab called for Britain to leave the EU long before the referendum.
He has been tipped for high office since being elected as an MP in 2010 and was the eighth MP to confirm he would stand.
He was appointed justice minister in 2010 but was sacked by Theresa May when she became prime minister and was appointed brexit secretary after David Davis’s resignation, but resigned in opposition to Mrs May’s deal.
Rory Stewart: CONFIRMED BID
The former prisons minister was appointed international development secretary in early May after Gavin Williamson was sacked.
He was once a Remain supporter but has accepted Brexit and maintained that he wants to reach out to Remain voters and bring the country together.
In terms of his Brexit position, Mr Stewart has said a no-deal Brexit would be “catastrophic” and that it is “undeliverable” and “unnecessary”.
Steve Baker: BELIEVED TO BE CONSIDERING A BID
Former brexit minister and ERG deputy chairman Steve Baker was elected as MP for Wycombe in 2010.
He resigned as minister in 2010, along with his then boss David Davis, stating they had been “blindsided” by the government’s Brexit policy.
He campaigned Vote Leave during the EU referendum and speaking to the BBC after Mrs May resigned on May 24, he said he had felt “a lot of pressure” from members of the public to stand for leadership.
Sir Graham Brady: BELIEVED TO BE CONSIDERING A BID
The long-standing chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady resigned his position shortly after Mrs May resigned and said he was considering running for Tory leadership.
He said that he had been urged by a number of colleagues to run as a candidate and made the decision to stand down to ensure “a fair and transparent election process”.
He was knighted in the 2018 New Years Honours and has been a Conservative MP since 1997.
Penny Mordaunt: BELIEVED TO BE CONSIDERING A BID
Penny Mordaunt became the UK’s first female defence secretary in May this year after Gavin Williamson was sacked.
She has a strong background as a naval reservist and served as an armed forced minister uner David Cameron.
Ms Mordaunt is a former international development secretary and was a high-profile campaigner for Vote Leave during the 2016 EU referendum.
Priti Patel: BELIEVED TO BE CONSIDERING A BID
Priti Patel was elected as MP for Witham in May 2010 and served as a minister in the Treasury and the Department of Work and Pensions before being appointed international development secretary.
She resigned from the cabinet in 2017 after disclosures she had held a series of unofficial meetings with senior Israeli figures.
She is admired on the right of the party for her strong pro-Brexit stance.