Race to replace Boris Johnson begins

GBNews24 Desk//

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt is considering a Tory leadership bid as the race to succeed Boris Johnson heats up following his dramatic resignation, reports BBC.

Allies claim Mr Hunt is attracting a lot of support from Tory colleagues.

Senior backbencher Tom Tugendhat and Attorney General Suella Braverman have already announced plans to stand.

Mr Johnson was forced out as Tory leader after a cabinet revolt over his leadership but wants to stay on as PM until the party chooses a successor.

Opposition parties and some Tories want him to go now – but that appears unlikely to happen.

He has appointed a new cabinet line-up, replacing ministers that resigned in protest at his leadership, and has told them he will not ask them to make major policy decisions until a new leader is in place.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, said in an “ideal world” deputy PM Dominic Raab would take over for a few weeks but “that ship has sailed”.

“We must now live with the fact that Boris Johnson will be prime minister until a successor can be voted on,” Sir Geoffrey added.

A timetable for the Tory leadership race is due to be confirmed next week and the new prime minister is expected to be in position by September.

The Labour Party has threatened to try and unseat the PM immediately through a vote of no confidence, although this would need considerable support among Conservatives to succeed.

Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner told the BBC “the fact he’s trying to cling on for the next couple of months is completely unacceptable”.

Mr Hunt urged Tory MPs to oust the prime minister in a party confidence vote last month but has not publicly commented on his leadership ambitions since Mr Johnson quit as party leader.