The race for Boris Johnson’s success as UK Prime Minister begins

Conservative Party officials now want to quickly turn the page on the regicide and speed it up Complicated internal process to find your successor, which consists of multiple rounds of votes by Conservative MPs and paid-up party members. He is hopeful that a new prime minister can be found by September.

Several lawmakers started setting up their stalls on Friday and are expected to present different flavors of the old Conservative recipe: lower taxes, a pledge to make Brexit a success and the promise of a stable government.

By far the most high-profile candidate to launch the bid is former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, whose resignation on Tuesday fired the starting gun at Mr Johnson’s ouster. Mr Sunak is projecting himself as a candidate for stability after Mr Johnson’s turbulent tenure. “Let’s restore faith,” is Mr. Sunak’s slogan.

Long-running candidate Attorney General Suella Braverman and Parliament’s foreign affairs select committee chair Tom Tugendhat have also gone public with their campaigns.

The newly-appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadim Zhawi outlined his vision for putting more money back in voter’s pockets, amid hopes he will throw his hat in the ring. “I instinctively want them to have more of their money,” he told the UK’s Sun newspaper.

Others are presenting themselves as a counterweight to Mr Johnson’s anarchic style. “It is time for a clean start,” said Mr. Tugendhat, a former soldier. Altogether about 15 candidates are expected to put forward their names to lead the Tories, as the Conservatives are known, including many former cabinet members.

The search for Mr Johnson’s successor has paralyzed the British government: war breaks out in ukraine And inflation rises. Mr Johnson has begun putting together a new team to hold the fort until a new prime minister is found. Some 50 ministers and aides resigned in an attempt to oust him.

But Tory distrust after Mr Johnson’s attempt to stay in office is such that some lawmakers wish he could go rogue in the coming months, introducing new policies or perhaps trying to convince Conservative lawmakers Huh. Change their mind and keep it.

Mr Johnson told his cabinet on Thursday that he would not make any major new policy decisions. “He said he would stay until the process was done, he didn’t put a timeline on it,” said James Cleverley, a longtime aide to Mr Johnson, who on Thursday became the third education secretary this week.

Whoever inherits Mr. Johnson’s job will take a poisoned cup. They must try and resolve how Britain’s departure from Europe should work in practice, namely whether to use the new independence from EU rules or to push for greater state intervention. they have to be with Mr Johnson’s uneven support basewhich stretched from the leftist former industrial strongholds in northern England to the well-heeled southern shires.

All this will play against a grim economic picture. Inflation is currently running above 9%, compounded by the energy crisis, the steep fall in the value of the pound and the ongoing supply chain disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development expects Britain to have the lowest growth rate among the group of 20 largest economies next year with the exception of Russia. hit by western sanctions In response to his invasion of Ukraine. The Bank of England expects growth to remain subdued through the end of next year, with a slight contraction expected in 2023.

Rising inflation Could drive the UK economy into recession, but policy instruments to deal with it are limited because the problems are primarily linked to high energy prices and a tight labor market. The traditional conservative strategy of cutting taxes may not be a panacea. The UK’s Office of Budget Responsibility warned on Thursday that tax cuts could further boost inflation.

Tim Bell, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary, University of London, said: “We may be in a situation where in order for a Conservative leader to win the competition, candidates have to promise things to the British economy that are not particularly wise.” Huh.”

The process to replace Mr Johnson will be explained in detail next week. The 1922 Committee of the Conservatives, which manages the leadership elections, would administer a series of elections. Tory MPs standing for the leadership would be narrowed down to the two final candidates by a series of votes cast by fellow MPs. That phase is expected to end by July 21. The two final candidates traditionally tour Britain to woo the 150,000 paid-for Tory members, who then vote by mail. A winner should be declared by September.

A large part of Mr Johnson’s old cabinet is expected to run. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is the front-runner to replace Mr Johnson, according to a preliminary survey of Tory members. Before Johnson’s resignation on Thursday morning, Mr Wallace told reporters “let’s see what the prime minister has to say” when asked if he would fill the now vacant role. over on

Twitter,

Mr Wallace spoke of the party’s “obligation to keep this country safe” and said “the public will not forgive us if we leave these state offices empty.”

Minister of State for Trade Penny Mordant, another potential replacement for Mr Johnson, retweeted Mr Wallace’s message with a resounding “Perfect”. Rishi Sunak, the former treasurer who helped fuel the rebellion leave earlier in the weekA move to a leadership position is also expected.

All candidates will have to strike a delicate balance of not destroying Mr Johnson’s legacy – of whom many have ever supported – while presenting himself as a fresh face. With the Conservative Party in power for 12 years, they would have to promote themselves as candidates for renewal. However the new leadership could pick up the Tories, which had beaten the opposition Labor Party in the polls before Mr Johnson stepped down.

“I don’t think the Conservative Party has weakened,” he said. If they choose the right candidate, I think they will get a boost. I think in a way, this is an opportunity for the Conservative Party to reinvent itself,” said Professor Matt Beach of the University of Hull.

—Paul Hannon in London contributed to this article.

write to Max Colchester max.colchester@wsj.com and Alyssa Miolene at elissa.miolene@wsj.com