Boris Johnson leads 8-member race to replace PM Theresa May

Potential contenders have until June 10 to formally declare their intention to contest the leadership election, triggered by May’s announcement that she will leave on June 7.

Despite a growing ‘ABB’ campaign – ‘Anyone But Boris’ – former foreign secretary Boris Johnson remains the favourite to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, as more leading lights of the Conservative party threw their hats in the ring.

The campaign against Johnson is driven by his claim that he would ensure that the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal. (AP Photo)

Potential contenders have until June 10 to formally declare their intention to contest the leadership election, triggered by May’s announcement that she will leave 10 Downing Street on June 7, after what the news media said she was ‘broken by Brexit’.

The eight contenders so far, all current or former cabinet ministers, are (two women, six men): Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock.

Johnson and Gove have been allies in the pro-Brexit camp before the 2016 referendum, but fell out during the leadership contest to replace David Cameron, who resigned as prime minister soon after the vote to leave the European Union.

Brexit is the main plank, with candidates making their pitch on Sunday television, radio and newspapers on the shape they think it should take, and would push for, as prime minister: hard or soft Brexit, another election or another referendum, how they would get round the key issue of backstop for Northern Ireland, and so forth.

The campaign against Johnson is driven by his claim that he would ensure that the UK leaves the EU on October 31 with or without a deal; an influential section of moderate Conservative MPs and members are in favour of leaving with a deal instead of the economically harmful no-deal scenario.

Those keen to stop Johnson include two cabinet ministers: justice secretary David Gauke and international development secretary Rory Stewart; the former wrote in the Observer on Sunday that candidates who fail to acknowledge the “enormously harmful” effects of crashing out of the EU will fuel populism.

Gauke wrote: “All those that do have such aspirations have a responsibility to set out their approach to Brexit, which is anchored in the hard realities of the situation”.

“We should not pretend that leaving the European Union without a deal will be anything other than enormously harmful to our economy, weaken our security relationships and threaten the integrity of the union,” he wrote.

In the first round of the leadership contest, 313 Conservative MPs will vote on the candidates, with those with the least being eliminated until two with the most votes remain. The two will then face an election with over 1.25 lakh members of the party voting.

The process is expected to spill over into July, when the new prime minister will take over.