Originally, this article was going to be about the forthcoming Wimbledon semi-finals taking place in the men’s and women’s singles tournaments, but the likes of Rafa Nadal, Cam Norrie, Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur are going to have to wait as there has been a momentous shift in the British Political scene in the last couple of days.
Now this is not on a par with some of the options you can back on who to be the US President in 2024, which included names such as Elon Musk, George Clooney, Kanye West, Jeff Bezos and even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, it is still intriguing to look at some of the options available with bet365 Sport on who will be the next Conservative Party leader.
In this article, we’ll examine what has happened to Boris Johnson over the past few days to expediate the selection of a new leader, as well as taking a look at some of the names who may well consider putting themselves forward as a candidate to become the next Tory party leader, and perhaps eventually the next Prime Minister too.
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Johnson’s Government Collapses Amidst A Tidal Wave Of Resignations
It seems strange to think that given all the issues that the government has faced in recent times, such as their botched handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in the early stages of the virus and more recently the Partygate scandal, which saw both the Prime Minister and his then Chancellor Rishi Sunak fined by police due to their involvement, that it all came to a head this week.
The trail of destruction this week that has led to Boris Johnson resigning started with Conservative MP Chris Pincher, also a Deputy Chief Whip, who was accused of sexually assaulting two men in a private member’s club last week.
Mr Johnson was asked if it was a wise decision to appoint Pincher to such a senior role back in 2019.
Initially, Number 10 denied knowing anything about Mr Pincher’s issues, but it came to light that Mr Johnson had been briefed about an official complaint made about Mr Pincher back in 2019 and that the Prime Minister had chosen to ignore that and appoint him anyway.
Number 10 were then forced to make a number of statements to the contrary of what they had initially stated and for many Conservative MP’s after Brexit, Covid-19, Partygate and numerous other scandals that have dogged Mr Johnson in office, the time had come to make a stand.
Sunak And Javid Lead The Walkout
While a small number of MPs had resigned from government positions in the weeks before, things came to a head this week when two key members of the cabinet, viewed to be the closest allies of the Prime Minister, resigned.
Then chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid were the first two big names to resign. What followed then was a stream of other resignations from MP’s also holding governmental positions, plus a host of private secretaries.
The sheer volume of resignations was unprecedented and in the space of three days over 50 MP’s had resigned their governmental positions, leaving Boris Johnson in an untenable position.
Last night, Boris was met by a number of ministers at Number 10, one group of which were there to support him, but another who tried to persuade him that his position was untenable and that he should resign.
Initially, Mr Johnson appeared ready to ignore these demands and forge on as Prime Minister, however with new resignations this morning and after speaking with Sir Graham Brady of the Conservative’s backbench 1922 Committee, Johnson announced this morning that he was to resign as Conservative Party Leader.
However, in order for a smooth transition to take place and for the Conservatives to have time to conduct their own leadership vote, Mr Johnson will remain as PM until just before the Conservative Party Conference in October, when a new leader will be in place.
However, the question is, who will be that leader? Bet365 have been quick off the mark and are already offering some of their famous Bet Boosts on some selected names who could be in the frame to replace Mr Johnson as the next leader of the party.
Bet365 Bet Boost Offers On Next Conservative Party Leader
Bet365 have boosted the price on Chancellor Rishi Sunak being the next Conservative party leader, offering 5/1 as the boosted price from 7/2, and you can also back Sajid Javid with a specially boosted price from 15/2 up to 10/1.
There are other options to consider here, so let’s take a look at some of the names likely to be mooted as the next Conservative leader.
Rishi Sunak (10/3)
- Former Chancellor who initially made a good impression with his financial packages during the Pandemic, but who was fined for breaking lockdown rules and also had questions raised about his wife’s tax status in the UK.
Dominic Raab (6/1)
- Seen as one of Mr Johnson’s biggest supporters, Raab has fulfilled a number of roles in senior government but has been involved in numerous scandals, including calling feminists “obnoxious bigots” in a 2011 interview, avoiding dealing with the Taliban takeover crisis in Afghanistan in 2021 by staying on holiday in Crete and avoiding phone calls to deal with the disaster. Not great considering he was Foreign Secretary at the time.
Ben Wallace (4/1)
- Another of Johnson’s closest allies, the former soldier is perceived to have done a good job as Secretary of State for Defence, however he has tended to shun the limelight and is not as well-known a face as some of his contemporaries, but many feel that may make him an ideal candidate as the Conservative party embarks on a fresh start.
Nadim Zahawi (10/1)
- The Iraqi-born founder of YouGov was appointed by Johnson to replace Sunak as Chancellor and a day later, was advising Johnson to leave his post. Clearly not afraid of making key decisions, he has some popularity for overseeing the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out across the UK. However, it is hard to see him appealing to too many on the hard right of the party.
Michael Gove (18/1)
- Labelled by Boris’ team at number ten as ‘treacherous’, Gove was sacked by Mr Johnson last night but with Boris now resigning his position, Gove may well be tempted to make a third run at the top job in the Conservative party after two previous attempts failed.
Tom Tugendhat (12/1)
- One of the more moderate Conservative MPs, he has already stated he would consider standing as leader if Boris Johnson stood down. Background as a soldier, like Ben Wallace, means that he will have appeal with many voters.
Some other names to consider include:
- Penny Mordaunt (6/1)
- Sajid Javid (15/2)
- Liz Truss (10/1)
- Jeremy Hunt (10/1)
- Steve Baker (12/1)
- Theresa May (20/1)
- Priti Patel (33/1)
- Jacob Rees-Mogg (50/1)
- Graham Brady (50/1)
- Rory Stewart (80/1)
- Nigel Farage (80/1)
So who will eventually succeed Boris? Who is your money on? For me Sunak is the clear favorite, but I think both Ben Wallace and Tom Tugendhat may well draw plenty of support too and they would be my choices to bet on.
