Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were the frontrunners in a fast-tracked race to succeed Liz Truss as British Prime Minister on Friday. The party’s hopes of turning its fortunes around are being boosted by Truss’ resignation, which ended her six weeks in power on Thursday. She will be replaced by someone who can secure the 100 votes required. Based on opinion polls, the Conservative Party is all but certain to suffer a wipe-out at the next general election, and the race is now on to establish itself as the fifth British premier in the last six years.
Reports from the Reuters news agency indicate that the winner will be announced either on Monday or Friday of next week. Johnson, who was ousted just over three months ago, was competing high up the ranks alongside Sunak for the next top job. Johnson is the favorite with bookmakers, followed by Sunak, the former Goldman Sachs analyst who became finance minister just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Penny Mordaunt, a former defence minister popular with Conservative Party members, is in third place.