Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has become odds on favourite to replace Boris Johnson as the next Prime Minister. The politician saw his odds slashed just hours after he quit his Cabinet role.
Mr Sunak's resignation came just moments after Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid announced he would also be leaving the Cabinet. Mr Javid was also Mr Sunak's predecessor, but quit as Chancellor in February 2020.
Now betting aggregator OddsChecker says Mr Sunak is considered the favourite to take the top seat should Mr Johnson resign. It comes after bookies also claimed Mr Johnson was odds-on favourite to call it quits by the end of 2022.
According to OddsChecker, Mr Sunak's odds are as low 4/1 or 5/2 on some bookmakers. This is slightly ahead of Penny Mordaunt, the current Minister of State for Trade, who has odds of 6/1 on most of the major betting sites.
Ms Mordaunt was last month touted as a 'unity candidate' by the I. She was described as a 'passionate, modern Brexiteer'.
The third favourite to take over from Mr Johnson is Ben Wallace. However a source close to Mr Wallace told the PA News Agency he is 'not resigning' as Defence Secretary.
Slightly further down the list of potential Prime Minister candidates are Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat.
The departure of Mr Sunak and Mr Javid plunges the Prime Minister into one of the most serious crises of his leadership. In the letter, published on Twitter, the now former chancellor said that he could no longer remain loyal to the Prime Minister, who remains mired in scandal over the appointment of Tory MP Chris Pincher to the role of deputy chief whip.
Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip last week following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019. The Prime Minister acknowledged he should have sacked Mr Pincher when he was told about the claims against him when he was a Foreign Office minister in 2019, but instead Mr Johnson went on to appoint him to other government roles.
In his resignation letter, Mr Sunak wrote: “It is with deep sadness that I am writing to you to resign from the Government. It has been an enormous privilege to serve our country as Chancellor of the Exchequer and I will always be proud of how during the pandemic we protected people’s jobs and businesses through actions such as furlough.
“To leave ministerial office is a serious matter at any time. For me to step down as Chancellor while the world is suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other serious challenges is a decision that I have not taken lightly.
“However, the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously. I recognise this may be my last ministerial job, but I believe these standards are worth fighting for and that is why I am resigning.”
