LIZ Truss has announced that she will step down as the leader of the Conservative Party and resign as Prime Minister.
Truss confirmed that the new prime minister would take place within the next week and that she will remain in her post until a successor is chosen.
So far, both Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove have ruled themselves out of the race.
The Sun's political editor Harry Cole has reported that there is talk of candidates being chosen on Monday with a result confirmed next Friday, although this is yet to be formally confirmed.
NEW: Talk of candidates chosen Monday with online vote of members with result next Friday, but currently no formally confirmed.
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) October 20, 2022
So, who is in the running to replace Liz Truss?
Rishi Sunak
The former chancellor lost out to Liz Truss as the pair went head-to-head over the summer.
Sunak won every round of voting among MPs and warned against underfunded tax cuts.
However, his economic policies were ultimately rejected by members.
Penny Mordaunt
The Leader of the House of Commons was beaten to the last two by Truss during the final round of voting among MPs in the summer.
Although she got behind the Prime Minister initially, she has since taken her on over raising benefits in line with inflation.
Like many of the summer's Tory leadership hopefuls, Mordaunt has ruled out the prospect of indyref2, saying she "won't play Nicola Sturgeon's games".
Kemi Badenoch
The International Trade Secretary rose from relative obscurity in the summer and eventually came fourth in the round of MPs voting.
She became an MP for the first time in 2017 and only took on her first Cabinet role this summer.
Badenoch ran for Tory leader on an "anti-woke" platform.
Boris Johnson
Some Tory MPs are suggesting the party asks the former prime minister to return having only resigned earlier this year.
He has remained largely silent since leaving No 10 and it remains unclear whether he would be interested in returning to the role.
In his final speech outside Downing Street, Johnson hinted at a possible return to Downing Street when he alluded to a Roman politican.
