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Next UK PM: What These Eight Shortlisted Candidates Bring To The Table
British Parliament (Adrian Pingstone/Wikipedia)
Eight candidates remain in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister after initial shortlisting.
Rishi Sunak: It is believed that the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy is the frontrunner in the race with reportedly the highest number of MPs behind him.
He is running a positive campaign focused on what his leadership can offer. He is also expected to put forth a coherent economic plan to deal with Britain's cost-of-living crisis.
However, he is facing opposition from within the Tories, and personal attacks were made, calling him a ‘schoolboy’ and a ‘liar’ and that he cannot be trusted on tax-related policies.
Suella Braverman: She is another Indian-origin MP who has been the Attorney General for England and Wales since 2020.
She has been MP for Fareham since 2015. She also chaired the European Research Group from 19 June 2017 to 9 January 2018.
She is ideologically anti-woke and believes that the ‘progressive’ ideologies of the radical left are causing real harm to young people.
Liz Truss: The incumbent Foreign Secretary enjoys considerable popularity among Conservative rank and file, and is liked for her outspokenness.
Truss is identified with the small-state, liberal ideological strand, but her demand for a bigger Foreign Office budget and enhanced defence spending have blotted her 'small government' credentials.
She has faced some criticism for advocating that the UK should get involved militarily in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and for her frequent social media posts.
Nadhim Zahawi: The Kurdish immigrant is said to have had a role in Johnson's ouster. Before entering politics, he co-founded the influential polling company YouGov.
Zahawi earned plaudits for managing a successful vaccination campaign and helped partially dissipate the massive discontent against the Johnson government over its alleged bungled response to the pandemic.
He is also seen as acceptable by the 'small state, less tax' wing of the party, but his immense private wealth and the controversy surrounding his parliamentary expense claim for heating his horse stables could work against him.
Penny Mordaunt: She is the first woman to have been UK defence secretary and is currently a junior trade minister.
She can capitalise on the disarray of the right of the Conservative party as it splinters into bitter factions.
She has racked up the second-highest number of endorsements after Sunak, dedicating time to one-on-one meetings with MPs rather than the airwaves.
Kemi Badenoch: Former equalities minister Badenoch is believed to be close behind Morduant as the grassroots favourite.
She gained significant endorsement for her candidature with former levelling up secretary and senior Conservative party leader Michael Gove declaring support for her.
She presented her agenda for a strong but limited government focused on essentials. She was among the ministers who quit the Johnson government.
Jeremy Hunt: The MP for South West Surrey since 2005 has served a stint as secretary of state for health and social care.
He lost the leadership race to Johnson in 2019 and now has pledged to raise defence spending to counter aggression from Vladimir Putin.
He said Esther McVey, the pro-Brexit former work and pensions minister, would be his deputy prime minister — a bid to broaden his appeal among voters in northern England.
Tom Tugendhat: He chairs the Parliament's influential Foreign Affairs Committee, and has used the position to build considerable mindshare among party MPs and supporters.
With more than a decade of experience in the Territorial Army, he campaigned against Johnson's candidature in 2019.
A hawk on China, Tugendhat has also been critical of the government's handling of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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