THE race for 10 Downing Street kicked off today with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab first out of the blocks to replace Theresa May.
Sajid Javid and Michael Gove also jostled for position while Boris Johnson remained silent about his plans.
PA:Press Association
But Jacob Rees-Mogg revealed he WON’T run for the leadership because he won’t get enough support to win.
Theresa May lit the touchpaper on the leadership race last night as she announced she’ll quit as soon as Brexit is delivered.
The contest to replace her is expected to run over the summer with a new Prime Minister in place around July.
Mr Raab and Mr Hunt were the first potential candidates to set out their stalls today.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, the Foreign Secretary insisted he is dedicated to a centrist “One Nation Conservatism”, adding: “That I think has to be our mission because if we don’t win the battle of values, we won’t win over young people.”
Mr Raab refused to follow Boris and Mogg in swinging behind the deal and called on Mrs May to restart talks with Brussels.
The former Brexit Secretary said: “One thing I would like to see is us go back to the EU again, keep the arm of friendship open, explain that there’s still time for an exchange of letters providing a legally binding exit from the backstop.
“At the same time, if they still don’t move I think we should have sensible conversations over the two weeks we have left around the suite of No Deal preparations that can be made to mitigate any of the potential damage on either side.”
If I threw my hat in the ring it would be thrown back at me
Jacob Rees-Mogg
If the Commons doesn’t approve a deal this week, the default option will be leaving with No Deal on April 12.
But MPs are almost certain to block that even if the PM adopts it as Government policy.
Brexiteer backbencher Andrea Jenkyns suggested she would support Mr Raab, saying: “He’s done a lot in the last few months and is a strong contender.”
Mr Sajid is trying to convince Mr Gove to join his campaign rather than running himself, according to MailOnline.
Today Mr Rees-Mogg, the darling of the Tory grassroots, said: “I’m not standing for the Conservative leadership.”
He told talkRADIO: “I fear if I threw my hat in the ring it would be thrown back at me like Oddjob used to do in the James Bond films.”
Other potential candidates such as Mr Gove, Mr Javid and Amber Rudd have stayed silent about their plans.
What happens next after Theresa May announced she’ll quit?
AFTER Theresa May announced she will quit once Brexit is delivered, the future of the country is in the hands of Tory MPs and members.
The PM is likely to step down in late May but will remain as caretaker leader while her successor is elected.
The process of finding a new Conservative party leader – and therefore Prime Minister – will take around two months.
There are two stages to the Tory leadership election – first MPs whittle the list of candidates down to two, then grassroots activists pick the winner.
Any Tory MP can throw their hat in the ring.
The parliamentary party votes in several rounds, eliminating the lowest-ranked candidate each time until just two remain.
Conservative members will use postal voting to have their say on the shortlist of two, with the winner becoming leader and entering 10 Downing Street.
After David Cameron quit in 2016, the second stage of voting was cancelled because Andrea Leadsom pulled out, leaving Theresa May as the last candidate standing.
Latest odds put Mr Gove as favourite at 4/1, followed by Mr Johnson 9/2, Mr Hunt 10/1, Mr Raab and Mr Javid 12/1, David Lidington 16/1, and Andrea Leadsom and Matt Hancock 20/1.
Remainer Justine Greening called on the Tory members who’ll choose the new leader not to pick a “1920s” option like Boris.
She blasted: “We need a leader for the 2020s not the 1920s – that means the grassroots of our party really challenging itself to say not just who they want but who they think Britain wants.”
‘No one’ tops poll
BRITS have been left unimpressed by the Tory leadership frontrunners, a poll revealed.
Some 60 per cent of voters want Theresa May to quit if her Brexit plan flops again today.
And nearly half (48 per cent) want her gone even if she defies the odds and gets her Withdrawal Agreement through.
But none of the Tory MPs hoping to snatch her crown is popular with the public, the Sky Data survey found.
Boris Johnson topped the poll, even though he was only backed by 20 per cent of the 2,091 people surveyed.
Amber Rudd, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid were all tied in second place on 8 per cent.
Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, was next on 7 per cent.
But they were all beaten by “none of the above” which was backed by 49 per cent of Brits.
Mrs May has already promised her warring MPs that she will quit as she begged them to support her Brexit plan at the third attempt.
EPA
London News Pictures
Rex Features
PA:Press Association
Reuters
London News Pictures
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online politics team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
