With UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepping down in the fall, a long list of candidates is waiting to take his place. “What’s interesting about the current situation is that there is no heir apparent who can take over from Boris,” Alan Mendoza, co-founder and executive director of The Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News on Thursday. With the Conservative Party still in control of the UK government after winning a majority in the 2019 election, the next prime minister will be a member of the party. But which member of the party will succeed Johnson is still up for debate, with candidates including former chancellor Rishi Sunak, trade secretary Penny Mordaunt and defense secretary Ben Wallace seen as likely favorites to become the country’s next leader. Betting markets currently favor Wallace, whose leadership of Britain’s response during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has won plaudits, according to odds published by Sky Bet. Sky Bet see Sunak as the second most likely candidate, while Mordaunt checks in third on the betting site. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON ANNOUNCES HIS RESIGNATION British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Reuters/Peter Nicholls) Other betting sites have Wallace third behind Sunak and Mordaunt. Sunak, who resigned from Johnson’s cabinet earlier this week, is seen as a potentially fiscally responsible leader who can get the country’s finances back on track, while Mordant is a rising figure in the party that flipped a constituency who held the Labor Party between 1997 and 2010 and has used her record as a platform to appeal to the country’s working-class voters. Polls show a similar picture with improved markets, with one survey showing Wallace leading the pack as Conservative Party members’ preference. Mordaunt and Sunak follow close behind, while long shots like Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi all garner some support. “No successor polls anywhere show any lead [Johnson] had in the last leadership elections, either internally within the party or externally in the country,” Mendoza said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The choice will be crucial for the Conservative Party, with speculation growing that a general election could be called as soon as this year. While betting odds think that’s unlikely to happen until 2023, Mendoza said the next leader will try to present a vision to voters. “The party itself will be looking for ability, stability and a clear vision in the next leader rather than ideology and if the winner can achieve that, they have a very good chance of winning the next general election as well.” he said. Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
