An early YouGov poll asked 716 Conservative members who they would vote for and in all scenarios, Mr Wallace won by a significant margin. Mr Wallace beat Liz Truss by 48% to 29%, Penny Mordaunt by 48% to 26%, Rishi Sunak by 51% to 30% and Jeremy Hunt by 58% to 22%. A new Tory leader is to be appointed by the party’s conference in October, a No 10 source said, as the leadership election will take several weeks. The YouGov poll showed that, in all scenarios, Mr Wallace won by a significant margin over rivals. Credit: YouGov Who is Ben Wallace? Mr Wallace is the current Defense Secretary and has been MP for Wyre and Preston North since 2010. He first entered politics as a member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, before moving to Lancashire where he was elected MP for Lancaster and Wyre in 2005. The Defense Secretary has won admirers in Westminster for his straightforwardness and straightforward approach. Credit: PA What is his background? Mr Wallace attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and Millfield School in Somerset. He held the rank of captain in the Scots Guards, a regiment of the British Army. His first government job was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Veteran Cabinet Minister, Rt. Hon Ken Clarke QC, as Secretary for Justice. He has served as whip, Northern Ireland minister and finally the UK’s longest-serving security minister. In 2008, he was awarded ‘Campaigner of the Year’ by The Spectator after pioneering calls for improved transparency and reform of parliamentary expenses. The role of the Minister of Defense As Defense Secretary, Mr Wallace has responsibility for international cooperation with NATO, defense planning and nuclear operations. He has also been a key voice in the UK’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that increased exposure could help any leadership bid. Personal life Ben Wallace lives with his family in Lancashire and enjoys rugby, motor sports and horse racing. After school he worked as a ski instructor in Austria before starting his career in the armed forces. Commissioned as an Officer in the Scots Guards, the 1990s saw service in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Central America. Ben Wallace has yet to announce whether he will put himself forward as the next Conservative leader.