Who Will be the Next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?

• 06.24.2016, 20:11
•  Europe,  World

British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he will step down after losing the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.

Cameron said that he hopes that a new Prime Minister will be in office by October after a Conservative leadership contest, The Express reports.

He said: "I will do everything I can as Prime Minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I don't think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination."

But who could take the top job and move into Downing Street after Mr Cameron’s departure?

Chancellor George Osborne was seen as a strong contender to take over from Cameron as leader of the Tory party and he campaigned alongside the prime minister for Britain to stay in the EU. But a Brexit was backed by 51.9% of voters compared to 48.1% who wished to remain and the result has left Osborne's leadership hopes in tatters, according to bookies.

Former London mayor and leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson is the favorite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister. 

The outspoken Eurosceptic has been a persuasive voice in the Brexit campaign and in many ways he has been the popular figurehead of the Out movement. 

Johnson is now 8/13 favorite to become the next leader of the Conservatives and 8/11 favorite to become the next Prime Minister, Coral reports. 

"Having played a leading role in the Vote Leave campaign, Boris Johnson would seem to be in pole position to replace David Cameron when the PM steps down," said Coral's David Stevens.

In third place is Johnson's fellow Leave campaigner and Justice Secretary, Michael Gove. Mr Gove is well-respected and has managed to rise above personal attacks throughout the campaign, but some in the party worry that he is not "normal" enough to win votes across the whole country. 

Other candidates, who are also in the running, albeit some way back, are Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Business Secretary Sajid Javid and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

However, the process for electing a new Conservative leader is fairly complex. The candidates must first be nominated by two sitting Tory MPs, Telegraph reports.

 If one person is selected they win outright. If only two people are selected by MPs they both go forward to a wider ballot of Conservative party members, conducted by post. 

If three or four members of the party are nominated as potential leadership candidates MPs must whittle them down to two choices using a first past the post system with subsequent ballots after fourth place has been knocked out. 

Then the two final choices are sent out to the wider party for the postal ballot. The result is then announced to the Parliamentary party and other members.