Theresa May is packing her bags and the race to be the next occupant of Number 10 Downing Street is on.
Here is your definitive list of which Tory MPs are standing to be the UK’s next Prime Minister, what chance they’ve got of winning and what their view is on the biggest issue facing the country: Brexit.
Boris Johnson
The former foreign secretary pulled out of the post-Brexit vote race in 2016 after his fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove withdrew his backing and split his support.
But it has been Westminster’s worst kept secret that the former mayor of London’s desire for the top job never dissipated.
When asked by the BBC’s Huw Edwards last week if he would be a candidate, Johnson simply replied “of course”, but he has yet to set out a broader suite of policies he would introduce as PM.
Brexit: Johnson is in favour of a Canada-style free trade deal with the EU but has said he will take the UK out of the bloc “deal or no deal” on October 31.
Key allies: Gavin Williamson, Johnny Mercer, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nadine Dorries, Simon Clark, Nigel Adams, John Whittingdale, Conor Burns, Andrew Rosindell, David Jones, Zac Goldsmith
Odds: He’s the clear favourite. 6/4 (Ladbrokes)
Dominic Raab
The former Brexit secretary and hardline Eurosceptic is the darling of the Tory right and has long been touted as a successor to May.
Brexit: Raab wants to renegotiate the Northern Ireland customs backstop - though the EU has repeatedly ruled this out - and has said he would prefer to leave the EU with a deal. Failing that, he would take the UK out of the EU without a deal in October.
Key allies: Helen Grant, Suella Braverman, Maria Miller, David Davis, Nadhim Zahawi
Odds: 4/1 (Ladbrokes)
Esther McVey
Rob Halfon, Chris Philp, John Glen, Chris Skidmore, David EvenettThe ex-work and pensions secretary has already launched her bid to be leader, running on a “blue collar Conservative” ticket.
She has said she would cut foreign aid in order to fund schools and police.
Brexit: McVey favours a no-deal Brexit. “This country needs a genuinely bold, new approach. So we must now leave the EU on October 31 with a clean break,” she told the Mail on Sunday.
Key allies: Pauline Latham and Ben Bradley
Odds: 50/1 (Ladbrokes)
Sajid Javid
The UK’s home secretary would be the UK’s first prime minister from a black and minority ethnic background.
Javid has also served as business secretary and communities secretary since his election as MP for Bromsgrove in 2010.
Announcing his candidacy on Twitter, he said there was a need to “restore trust, bring unity and create new opportunities across the UK”.
Brexit: Javid said the party’s hammering at the Euro-elections showed the government “must get on with delivering Brexit”. He supported May’s deal and has previously said he does not believe a no-deal Brexit would harm Britain’s security.
Key allies: Rob Halfon, Chris Philp, John Glen, Chris Skidmore, David Evenett
Odds: 33/1 (Ladbrokes)
Matt Hancock
Identifying himself as a one-nation Conservative, the health secretary’s candidacy will stand in stark contrast to those of hardline Brexiteers.
His backers argue he can win back younger voters who flocked to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party at the last election.
Brexit: The Remainer says the party must be honest about “the trade-offs” of Brexit and he would take a different approach to securing Commons support for a deal with the EU. He told the BBC that a no-deal Brexit “simply won’t be allowed by Parliament”.
Key allies: Bim Afolami, Tracey Crouch, Damian Green
Odds: 25/1 (Ladbrokes)
Rory Stewart
Recently promoted to the Cabinet as International Development Secretary, Stewart is an outsider for the top job.
The ex-prisons minister launched his leadership bid with an interview in the Spectator last month. He is also a one-nation Conservative and regards himself as a moderniser who would win over young voters by tackling climate change.
The 46-year-old MP for Penrith and The Border tweeted: “The star name will not always be the best choice. There may be times when Jiminy Cricket would make a better leader than Pinocchio.”
Brexit: Stewart backed May’s deal and has previously indicated he would back a customs union. He said a no-deal Brexit would be “a huge mistake, damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest”
Key allies: No MPs have publicly declared support, but Stewart has many allies in northern constituencies and Ruth Davidson’s Scottish Conservative Party.
Odds: 12/1 (Ladbrokes)
Michael Gove
The environment secretary’s decision to enter the race has put the cat among the pigeons, and bookies think he has a good chance of emerging victorious.
Gove put himself forward in the 2016 leadership race thus destroying his Vote Leave ally Boris Johnson’s chances.
He has cast himself as the ’unity candidate” who can bring together Leavers and Remainers after three fractious years for the governing party.
He told reporters on Sunday: “I’m entering this contest because I want to put forward a positive set of ideas about how we can bring our country together. I believe I’m ready to unite this country and ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist party, and I’m looking forward to a contest of ideas.”
Brexit: As a Cabinet minister, Gove has defended May’s deal and has advocated an incremental approach to leaving the EU. It is not clear whether he will back a no-deal exit.
Key allies: Mel Stride, Ed Vaizey, Tom Tugendhat, Sir Edward Leigh, Bob Neill, George Eustice
Odds: 5/1 (Ladbrokes)
Jeremy Hunt
The foreign secretary is well liked among MPs and would be the choice of moderates who want a safe pair of hands.
As the UK’s longest-serving health secretary, he secured a £20bn boost for the NHS and is seen as having restored a measure of gravitas to the role of foreign secretary after Johnson’s resignation over Brexit.
Brexit: The Remainer has said he now backs a no-deal Brexit on October 31 if parliament fails to back an agreement and the government cannot renegotiate terms with Brussels.
Key allies: David Morris
Odds: 12/1 (Ladbrokes)
Andrea Leadsom
The ex-leader of the House of Commons quit last week when May said she was prepared to offer MPs a route to a second referendum.
Leadsom is a favourite of hardline Brexiteers and has previously said she regards the UK’s continuing membership of the EU “disgusting”.
In Cabinet, she was de facto chair of the group of big hitter Brexiteers known as “the pizza club” who worked together to push May away from a soft Brexit.
It is Leadsom’s second attempt to capture the crown after she lost out to May in 2016, having appeared to suggest May not being a mother was a flaw.
Brexit: She would back a no-deal exit: “To succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away.”
Key allies: No declared support but fellow Cabinet ministers Liam Fox and Penny Mordaunt backed her in 2016.
Odds: 12/1 (Ladbrokes)
Who else could run?
Penny Mordaunt: The UK’s first female defence secretary is regarded as the dark horse of the leadership race but has yet to show her hand. 25/1
Steve Baker: The self-professed “Brexit hardman”, who is deputy chair of the European Research Group of backbench Tory Eurosceptics, has said he may run. Mark Francois would back him. 33/1
Graham Brady: The chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs has said he could not oversee the race’s procedure, as his role would normally demand, suggesting he may himself be a candidate. 50/1
James Cleverly: The Brexit minister is an outside for the role. 66/1