Liz Truss quits as UK PM: Who are the front-runners to replace her?

Here are the front-runners for the post of the next UK Prime Minister:

Rishi Sunak

Sunak, who ran against Truss in the Conservative leadership election this summer, remains Sky Bet’s favorites with the bookmaker paying out £7 ($7.83) for every £4 bet on the ex-chancellor, Bloomberg reported.

Sunak, who lost out to Truss’ now failed tax-cutting agenda in the leadership race last month, is seen as a key contender to step up to the post. But the picture remains extremely uncertain due to deep infighting within Tory ranks.

Rishi Sunak with his wife Akshata Murty and their daughters. (Photo: Instagram/@rishisunakmp)

Jeremy Hunt

New chancellor Jeremy Hunt has climbed the list of favorites after less than a week in the role, with bets on Hunt at 4/1.

A former health and foreign minister, Hunt ripped up Truss’s economic manifesto, leading to some Conservative lawmakers referring to him as the “real prime minister”. He has insisted he does not want the top job, despite entering two previous races to become prime minister, including in 2019 when he lost out in the final round to former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Jeremy Hunt leaves 10 Downing Street in London after he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer following the resignation of Kwasi Kwarteng, Friday Oct. 14, 2022. (AP)

Penny Mordaunt

A former defence secretary, Mordaunt was a passionate supporter of leaving the European Union. She won plaudits for her performance in parliament on Monday, when she defended the government even as it reversed most of its policies. A lawmaker said Mordaunt has the ability to find friends in the various tribes of the party. Bets on Leader of the House of Commons Mordaunt were also at 4/1.

File photo of Penny Mordaunt. (Reuters)

Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer has slipped down the list of likely candidates, suggesting bookies favor an internal Tory replacement rather than a general election, with odds on the Labour leader down to 8/1 from 3/1 at Sky Bet, the Bloomberg report stated.

Starmer has renewed his call for a general election as the only way out of the “pathetic squabbles” within the governing party.

Britain’s Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer leaves his home in London, Britain May 10, 2021. (Source: Reuters)

Boris Johnson

Sky Bet sees speculation of former prime minister Boris Johnson returning to Number 10, Downing Street. Johnson was the face of the Brexit vote and won votes in parts of the country that had never voted Conservative before. But he was forced out by a string of scandals.

Loyalists of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson believe the party should bring him back, given his solid electoral mandate from the 2019 general election. However, Truss’ current troubles are reminiscent of how Johnson was dragged out of office and forced to resign in early July amid an open revolt by a growing number of his MPs and ministers.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, July 20, 2022. (REUTERS)

Ben Wallace

A former soldier, Britain’s defence secretary Wallace is one of the few ministers to have emerged from recent political turmoil with his credibility enhanced. Wallace was defence minister for both Johnson and Truss, and is popular with party members.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. (Reuters)

With inputs from agencies

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