Whoever succeeds Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has an awful lot of big choices to make. There are tens of ministerial jobs to fill and a cabinet to make up including key jobs including education, housing, Northern Ireland secretaries as well as the Welsh Secretary.
There are still questions remaining about how the leadership battle will play out, in terms of a timetable, and when a new leader will be appointed. There could be a caretaker Prime Minister with talk Dominic Raab could take that role up within hours of the Prime Minister's statement. There are 13 Conservative MPs who represent Wales.
READ MORE: The latest as Boris Johnson set to resign
Here are the runners and riders:
The front runners
Simon Hart - MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Probably the front runner for consideration by the new PM, Simon Hart is the MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire. He has been Welsh secretary since taking over from Alun Cairns in 2019. He's been fiercely loyal to Boris Johnson and regularly sent out to defend the Prime Minister, party and government giving him the public and media profile a new Prime Minister would look for.
Alun Cairns - MP for Vale of Glamorgan
The former Welsh secretary would no doubt be delighted to be asked back. He left the role in 2019 after being accused of lying about his knowledge of the fact a Conservative candidate collapsed a rape trial. The Vale of Glamorgan MP had said he was unaware of the details of former staff member Ross England's role in the collapsed trial until the story broke.
However BBC Wales obtained a leaked email sent to Mr Cairns which showed he had been made aware of the allegations as early as August last year.
In a resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Cairns said he would "cooperate in full with the investigation under the Ministerial Code which will now take place".
He was cleared of any breach.
David TC Davies - MP for Monmouth
A minister in the Wales Office under Boris Johnson, the Monmouthshire MP made clear he didn't intend to take the job (if he was offered it) after his boss quit on July 6. "It has been a privilege to work for Simon who did a great job as Sec of State for Wales. We should not be in the position of losing decent and hard working Ministers. I made clear last night that I will not take the role," he said.
Stephen Crabb - Preseli Pembrokeshire MP
A former Welsh secretary and MP since 2005, he's the current chair of the Welsh affairs select committee. He quit the government in 2016 after it was revealed he had exchanged intimate messages with a younger woman. You can read all the history to that here. He was also accused of sending sexual texts a second time.
Mr Crabb had served as Work and Pensions Secretary and launched a bid for the Conservative leadership after David Cameron’s decision to stand down in the wake of the referendum result. Before taking over as work and pensions secretary, following Iain Duncan Smith’s dramatic resignation over benefit cuts, Mr Crabb was Welsh secretary.
David Jones - Clwyd West MP
Elected Conservative MP for Clwyd West in May 2005, David Jones is another former Welsh secretary. A divisive figure, he is an ardent Brexiteer.
He was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union on 17 July 2016 but lost his job in a reshuffle. He was shadow minister for Wales from 2006 to 2010 and was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Wales Office from May 2010 to September 2012. He was Secretary of State for Wales from 2012 to 2014. Before the 2019 General Election he had said he didn't intend to stand again but changed his mind and was re-elected.
Potentials
Virginia Crosbie - Ynys Mon MP
The ambitious Ynys Mon MP was elected in 2019 and has done an awful lot of putting Anglesey on the map with the upper echelons of Downing Street and her party. There are questions over the safety of her seat as it's always been a marginal and recent polls show it is one at risk at the next election.
Fay Jones - Brecon and Radnorshire MP
Another of the 2019 intake, Fay Jones is articulate and respected across the board. She's been a PPS but hasn't the experience to be a front runner.
Craig Williams - Montgomeryshire MP
A party loyalist who has made his way through the ranks from Cardiff council to MP for Cardiff North and then, after losing that seat in 2017, to Montgomeryshire. He's been in Rishi Sunak's top team at the Treasury so if Mr Sunak gets the top job, could his loyalty be rewarded?
Rank outsiders
Sarah Atherton - Wrexham MP
The Wrexham MP has been fiercely loyal to her party but doesn't have a huge public profile or media presence.
James Davies - Vale of Clwyd MP
An MP and GP who has served twice, once between 2015 and 2017 and then re-elected in 2019, his profile isn't big enough for the top job.
Simon Baynes - MP for Clwyd South
The Clwyd South MP was elected in 2019. Previously working in finance, he then ran a small bookshop. He grew up in Montgomeryshire, where his father ran the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. He stood for the party a number of times and has also stood for the Senedd. He's a member of the Welsh Affairs select committee but doesn't have the experience.
Robin Millar - Aberconwy MP
An impressive Welsh learner, Robin Millar is MP for Aberconwy. Elected in 2019, he's a former civil engineer.
Jamie Wallis - Bridgend MP
The Bridgend MP is facing legal proceedings over alleged driving offences which might make his appointment controversial. Mr Wallis recently came out as the first trans MP.
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