Boris emerges after Brexit win as favourite to succeed Cameron – but will Theresa May stop him?
Brexiteer is taking time out from London to think about what to do next
BORIS Johnson waves to the press today as he gets ready for a day out in the countryside with his wife.
Pictured at his home in Oxfordshire, the Brexiteer seems to be struggling to put his backpack on as he struggles with the decision of whether to stand in the Tory leadership contest.
He is the bookies favourite after David Cameron announced he is going to stand down as Prime Minister following the Leave campaign's victory in the EU referendum.
But so far the former Mayor of London has not announced whether he will go for the top job.
Home Secretary Theresa May is being tipped to stand against him as the “Stop Boris” candidate by his enemies who want to block his path to Downing Street.
Maybe a few days away from London will give him time to think as friends of the former Mayor of London insist he has yet to make up his mind.
This is despite senior Tories saying he is unstoppable.
Apparently some of his friends say he is still in shock about the Leave campaign winning the EU referendum and so did not think David Cameron would have stood down.
One MP and confidant of Boris told The Sun yesterday: “Today has been a hell of a shock for him.
“Deep down, he didn’t think this was going to happen because he didn’t really think Leave was going to win.
“He’s also pretty upset for David, because he has known and liked him for a very long time.
“Boris needs a little bit of time and space to reflect and work out whether he really does want to jump.”
Another senior Tory MP has described him as “very difficult to resist” and added “Like him or not, few of us can see beyond Boris.
“He really threw himself into the Leave campaign, and he was head and shoulders the best campaigner above all the others.
“Who is going to stop him?”
Many believe that the PM, by announcing that a new leader should be in place by the Conservative conference in the autumn, has given himself three months to try and block Boris from replacing him, who he blames for his crushing defeat in the referendum.
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Also out and about today following the Leave campaign victory was fellow Brexiteer Michael Gove.
He too is said to be considering whether to launch a leadership bid this weekend, and is also out with his wife.
David Cameron might not have the option of being able to choose when he steps aside, after Liam Fox said: “The timetable for a leadership election in the Conservative Party isn’t determined by the leader, it’s determined by the 1922 committee.”
The former Defence Secretary was referring to the group of Tory backbenchers who will arrange the voting, which has a meeting of its executive committee on Monday.
Boris is expected to declare his hand early next week, and could be challenged by up to a dozen rivals.
Who will replace Cameron? Here are the runners and riders
Here are the runners and riders to be our next PM:
Boris Johnson 4/7
His great appeal is his ability to win elections. Against the odds he took City Hall and he gambled his career on leading Britain out of the Brexit door.
As the figurehead of the Vote Leave campaign it follows that has country-wide appeal, with 17.5million voters backing Brexit.
But while immensely popular with the Tory grassroots, Boris is short of a few friends in the parliamentary party and he’ll need them if he is to get through the first round of leadership contest.
But it would be a stretch to imagine a Tory leadership contest without his blonde bonce in the scrum.
George Osborne 16/1
The Chancellor has endured a torrid EU referendum campaign, having to do much of the peddling of Remain’s Project Fear economic doomsday Brexit forecasts.
Before that he also faced a series of embarrassing Commons defeats and earlier this month 65 Tory MPs roundly rejected his proposals for an emergency “Brexit budget” calling it “absurd”.
It is thought he will have to be moved in a Cabinet reshuffle to another post.
Once seen as the natural successor to David Cameron’s throne and the continuity candidate, his odds will have plummeted after Brits voted Brexit.
Theresa May 5/2
The Home Secretary kept her head down during the EU referendum, so much so that she was criticised by some within the party for failing to pull her weight.
Seen by some as the unity candidate, the “Ice Queen” and reluctant Remainer has leapfrogged Osborne as the likely candidate to take on Boris in a leadership race.
Despite being the longest serving Home Secretary in 100 years, her “lack of star quality” could cost her when it comes down to votes from the Tory grassroots.
She recently appointed respected political hack Joey Jones, sparking speculation she is putting together her team in time for a leadership challenge.
Michael Gove 5/1
The other Brexiteer to be in with a shot at the title.
Popular with Tory MPs but disliked by the public, support among the Conservative membership has swelled for the Justice Secretary during the campaign, with 31 per cent backing him for leader.
He has always claimed he is not interested in the leadership but now with his close friend Cameron cleanly dispatched he might reconsider.
Nicky Morgan 33/1
Considered a rank outsider for the top job. The Education Secretary announced her intention to run last year once Mr Cameron stepped down.
Selling herself as “Mrs Normal” she has said she wants to see a “female leader of a main Westminster political party”.
She is not fancied as a favourite at the bookies.