Brexiteer big-hitters Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson emerge as favourites to replace Theresa May in battle for Tory crown
HIGH-flyer Dominic Raab is gearing up for a head-to-head battle with Boris Johnson for the Tory crown.
The former Brexit Secretary has emerged as front-runner to succeed Theresa May after quitting the Cabinet over the PM’s doomed deal for leaving the EU.
He is expected to run with the backing of David Davis, who also previously resigned from the Brexit role.
But they will face a tough challenge from ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Mr Raab, 44, will embark today on a round of media interviews to boost his profile as Mrs May clings on to power by her fingertips.
Downing Street is braced for a leadership challenge as early as this week, with Mrs May’s opponents believed to be just 11 letters short of the 48 needed to trigger a ballot.
Senior aides insist she can survive a no-confidence vote but it would leave her badly wounded — and defeat in next month’s vote on the deal could finish her off.
Karate black belt Mr Raab was tipped to go the whole way last night.
He showed his credentials by being first of seven ministers and aides to quit over the Brexit deal last week.
Allies say the support of Mr Davis, 69, who harboured leadership ambitions himself, will put “rocket boosters” under any challenge.
But fellow Brexiteer BoJo, has been holding dinners and drinks sessions with potential supporters since he quit the Cabinet in July.
A senior Tory said: “Dom and Dave will appeal to a certain wing of the party and could go the whole way. But others may look to Boris for his broader appeal.”
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, who ran in 2016, and International Aid Secretary Penny Mordaunt are both likely to run.
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Cabinet comeback queen Amber Rudd, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will scrap it out to be the Remain candidate.
But an insider said: “It has to be a Brexit supporter this time.”
Five Brexiteer Cabinet ministers will hold a “breakfast summit” meeting tomorrow to draw up a rival plan to Mrs May’s.
Even some who support her deal will urge the PM to ditch it, saying she will not get it through the Commons.
- Theresa May should carry on as PM until Brexit is delivered in March, 47 per cent of voters in a Com-Res survey said.
Raab blasts May for making Britain look weak
MEANWHILE, Mr Raab launched a stinging attack on the PM, accusing her of making Britain appear “frightened of its own shadow”.
In a thinly-veiled pitch for her job, he said her lack of “political will” had allowed us to be “blackmailed and bullied” by the EU.
He urged the PM to walk away from talks rather than give in to “predatory” behaviour of “dark forces” in Brussels.
Mr Raab insisted he would not be sending a letter of no confidence in Mrs May but made clear he does not think she has stood up to EU chiefs, whom he compared to an “abusive” spouse in a divorce case.
The ex-lawyer said the government should be more honest about the dangers of no deal.
He told the Sunday Times: “This isn’t Dunkirk. The short-term risks of disruption can be managed. They can’t be eliminated.
“We need to be honest about that. But far better that than to allow a pretty controlling and manipulative relationship with the EU to become abusive.
“I don’t think we should look like we’re afraid of our own shadow. We need to be going out there and grasping opportunities.”
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