Explained: Who could be new UK PM, what is the method and how long will it take?
Boris Johnson resigns: Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt could replace Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom.
British prime minister Boris Johnson will resign in an address to the nation late Thursday night after a mass exodus of cabinet ministers and top government officials heaped pressure on the embattled Conservative leader. Johnson will likely remain prime minister till the Tories can elect a new leader who will replace him at the head of the government. It is unclear how long this will take, with reports varying in estimates from a few days (not likely) to a few months.
Johnson reportedly agreed to quit after yet more resignations earlier in the day, including newly-appointed education minister Michelle Donelan.
He was also told of his party's 'general view' - that he had to go - by home minister Priti Patel. Johnson had earlier vowed to stay and fight.
READ | UK's Boris Johnson agrees to quit, will be 'caretaker PM' till October
What is the process to elect a new Conservative leader?
The influential '1922 Committee' will oversee the selection of a new leader who automatically becomes prime minister.
> Candidates must be nominated by two other Conservative lawmakers. This means there could be a large field of potentials.
> Multiple rounds of voting will be held, with each lawmaker casting a secret ballot vote. After each round the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
> Votes are normally held Tuesday and Thursday but parliament is due to break for six weeks on July 21, so the process could be accelerated.
> Voting will continues till there are only two prime ministerial candidates left. The wider membership of the party is then asked to choose a leader.
> How long this takes depends on how many candidates there are; in 2016 Theresa May became PM less then three weeks after David Cameron resigned.
> Reports from the UK say Johnson has spoken to the '1922 Committee' chair and the two have agreed a new leader should be in place before October.
READ | Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid quit in protest against PM Johnson
Who could replace Johnson as prime minister of the UK?
Rishi Sunak
The finance minister was, till last year, the odds-on favourite to replace Johnson. He won praise for rescue packages during the worst of the pandemic, including an employment programme that could cost as much as $514 billion.
READ | UK 'PM' Rishi Sunak? 5 things to know about Boris Johnson's likely successor
However, Sunak, 42, has also faced criticism, most notably over the domicile status of his wife Akanksha Murthy - the daughter of billionaire and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy.
Like Johnson, he too was criticised over Covid lockdown violations.
He quit Tuesday saying 'the public rightly expect government to be conducted properly, competently and seriously'.
READ | 'Can’t continue like this': What Sunak said as he quit Johnson cabinet
Penny Mordaunt
Mordaunt, 49, is the former defence minister who was fired by Johnson when he took charge in 2019 because she had backed his rival, Hunt.
Like Truss, she too championed Brexit. She is now the junior trade minister and has called for 'professionalism and competence' from the government.
READ | Mordaunt, Sunak lead race to 10, Downing Street: Report
Nadhim Zahawi
Zahawi, 55, has been appointed as Sunak's successor but that does not rule him out from taking a shot at the prime minister's post. Zahawi impressed as vaccines minister after Britain had one of the world's fastest roll-out rates and last week said it would be a 'privilege' to be prime minister.
As a plus, his personal story - a former Iraqi refugee who came to Britain as a child - sets him apart.
READ | Sunak's successor Zahawi's family fled Saddam Hussein's regime
Liz Truss
The foreign secretary is the darling of the Conservatives' grassroots and has regularly topped polls carried out by the website Conservative Home.
Truss, 46, was earlier international trade minister (a role in which she championed Brexit) and last year lead negotiator with the European Union.
On Monday she said the prime minister has her '100% backing'.
Jeremy Hunt
The ex foreign and health minister, 55, finished second to Johnson in the 2019 contest. He is seen as a more serious and less controversial leader.
Earlier this year, he said his ambition to become prime minister 'hasn't completely vanished'. Hunt was one of those who voted against Johnson.
Ben Wallace
Wallace, 52, is the defence minister and a popular figure within the party thanks, in large part, to his handling of the Ukraine crisis.
A former soldier who served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and central America, Wallace has seen his stock increase steadily over the past three years.
With input from Reuters