Who Will Be Next Prime Minister? Odds On Conservative Leadership Race Stacked In Boris Johnson's Favour

Are the bookies missing a trick?
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After EU referendum defeat, David Cameron has announced he will stand down as Prime Minister by October - starting the firing gun on the Tory leadership race.

According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, Boris Johnson is the hot favourite (see odds below).

But is the smart money on Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb - backed today by Ruth Davidson another rising star - as the outsider's punt?

Boris Johnson
Peter Nicholls / Reuters
Has this all been about blonde ambition? The ex-London mayor's decision to back Leave was always seen as a strategic move to put him in pole position for the top job regardless of the result. 'Boris' said he would only go for it "if the ball came loose from the back of a scrum". Looks like game on. 4/5 favourite.
Theresa May
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The TM4PM bandwagon was picking up momentum before the referendum, but has backing Remain scuppered her chances? The long-serving Home Secretary was notably quiet during the campaign, and her only big intervention was to call for greater control of immigration - which queered the Leave message. May first warned of the Tories as the "nasty party", but was happy enough to warn of there being nothing in the "national interest" to support immigration. Second favourite. 3/1.
Michael Gove
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The greatest comeback since Lazarus? Gove was sacked as Education Secretary, a job he loved, because he was so unpopular. But since becoming Boris's nerdy sidekick in the push for Leave, his stock has risen. Intelligent, fluent - if a little smug for some tastes - bookies have him third favourite: 4/1
Andrea Leadsom
Neil Hall / Reuters
The energy minister was little-known outside the Westminster bubble before the EU campaign, but the former City banker was one of the soundest voices for Leave amid the apocalyptic warnings. 10/1
George Osborne
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Surely the Chancellor's toast. 12/1.
Stephen Crabb
Matt Cardy/PA Wire
A young, working-class Tory from a tough background in the 'provinces' (Cardiff), the Work and Pensions Secretary might be the unity leader the Conservative Party needs - even though he backed Remain. Highly-regarded but low-profile enough to have escaped some of the scars. 16/1
Ruth Davidson
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
The Scottish Conservative leader with a penchant for riding tanks has impressed many with her performance during the campaign and electoral success north of the border last month. But a Westminster seat would need to be found for her to have a viable shot at the top job. Ms Davidson has also suggested such a move is not for her, describing life at No 10 as lonely. 25/1
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