Boris Johnson

Here are 5 possible contenders to replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday. He said he will stay on as prime minister while the party selects a new leader.

Given that the Conservative Party won the last election in a landslide, the country won't necessarily have to head to the polls again. Instead, next week, a small group of Conservative legislators inside Parliament — known as the 1922 Committee — will determine the rules for a new leadership contest that will help select Johnson's replacement from among the 350 or so Conservative lawmakers

Under the United Kingdom's parliamentary system, the winner of that Conservative Party contest will then become the new British prime minister.

Johnson himself emerged as the clear leader during a similar process in 2019, and already some of his longtime allies and opponents have expressed their interest in vying for the country's top political job.

Here are some of those who could — based on popularity, experience or expressions of interest — compete to become the next British prime minister in the weeks and months to come:

Since 2020, Sunak served as chancellor of the Exchequer — Britain's second most senior political office, overseeing the treasury — and his decision to resign from that role Tuesday night prompted a cascade of subsequent resignations from government, which eventually forced Johnson to announce he would step down as leader of the Conservative Party. A former investment banker, he was first elected as a lawmaker in 2015.His popularity with the British public as a top Cabinet member soared during the coronavirus pandemic, as his treasury department announced a series of policies that provided many citizens with financial support. He soon became a favorite to replace Johnson, but a controversy over his wealthy wife's tax affairs and a criminal fine for breaching lockdown rules dented his reputation as a competent operator.

A former treasury chief and, until recently, the country's health secretary, Javid's resignation Tuesday night also helped precipitate the Cabinet rebellion that led to Johnson's own resignation as Conservative leader. A trader at investment banks Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank, he was elected to Parliament back in 2010. In 2019, after previous Prime Minister Theresa May announced her own resignation in the midst of a painful, long-running legislative saga over Brexit, Javid competed with, then subsequently endorsed, Johnson for the Conservative leadership. As his finance minister he clashed with Johnson over the ability to choose his own advisers and stepped down. He then returned to a government role after another ministerial scandal in 2021. This week he criticized Johnson's leadership very publicly in Parliament, during a speech many considered the obvious starting gun on a new leadership bid.

Wallace is among the longer-serving lawmakers to be considered as a front-runner. As a former soldier elected to Parliament in 2005, he has won plaudits for his role as Britain's defense minister in supporting Ukrainian military efforts to fight back against Russia's invasion this year. He previously helped manage one of Johnson's earlier aborted leadership campaigns following the U.K.'s referendum to leave the European Union, and has kept a low profile in recent months amid rising criticism of Johnson's behavior. He has previously completed overseas military tours in Germany, Cyprus and Northern Ireland and was among the soldiers tasked with returning the body of Princess Diana from Paris following her death in a 1997 car accident. He has so far declined to say whether he would participate in any leadership contest, but is frequently seen as a leading candidate in polls conducted with grassroots Conservative Party supporters and activists.

Boris Johnson has left a hellish task for his successor. But British Conservatives are delirious with relief

London (CNN)Conservative members of the British Parliament woke up on Friday morning with one hell of a hangover. 

Following a week of chaos and misery, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to leave Downing Street despite it being abundantly clear to virtually everyone else that the jig was up, they can now begin the search for a new leader after Johnson finally resigned (sort of) on Thursday.

A quick recap of the last week of political tumult and scandal in London:

Johnson's deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, resigned his post last Thursday, after it emerged that two men complained that he had groped them while drunk at a private event. Johnson's response was far from ideal in the eyes of most Conservative MPs. It came after months of disquiet at his handling of numerous other scandals, including Partygate, which saw Johnson become the first sitting Prime Minister to be found guilty of breaking the law while in office. 

To try to understand where the heads of Conservative members are, CNN spoke with multiple officials and lawmakers from all over the party. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity, so that they could be as honest as possible at a very turbulent time when individual jobs are at stake.

For the vast majority of Conservatives who spoke to CNN, this is a moment of great relief. "It would have been a lot better if he'd gone 24 hours earlier, when members of his own government were telling him it was time," says one former cabinet minister. "But I am optimistic that a new leader can sweep all of that away. It just needs to happen quickly." 

The "all of that" the former minister refers to is the reputational damage that Johnson's behavior in office -- from law-breaking to clinging to power -- has done to the party. 

A Conservative official told CNN that "Johnson was the problem. Now he's going, we can get back to looking like sensible Conservatives rather than what he'd turned the party into."

The official reiterated that the process must happen as quickly as possible. The official also pointed out that Johnson's version of the party was necessary in 2019 to resolve the Brexit crisis and win an election, but that his particular brand of populism wouldn't work without the popularity. 

The reason for this sense of urgency is that, with Johnson now caretaker PM, the party is acutely aware that having a man in Downing Street whom they all said needed to go just days ago, and whose public approval ratings are absolutely dire, is not a great look. 

Fears that he will try to hang on appear to be somewhat overstated. While some MPs were furious that Johnson's speech didn't mention the word "resign" and effectively blamed them for his ousting, rather than taking personal responsibility, no one who spoke to CNN seriously believes he is going to become a permanent squatter in Number 10. Not least because the party's MPs now have the authority to get rid of him through its own internal rules -- a level of authority they didn't have until this week. 

Not everyone is so optimistic, however, that the damage done to the party by Johnson can be so easily swept away. 

"The final 48 hours before he finally accepted it was over will confirm to people who, incorrectly, suspect that Conservatives are selfish people who put themselves before the national interest," says a party adviser. "That is going to be hard to battle against when we've been in power for so long and people are naturally already turning away from us." 

The image of the Conservative Party after three years of Johnson and 12 years in power is not the only problem his successor must grapple with. With so many competing factions, party unity is a major issue, exacerbated by Brexit, the current cost-of-living crisis, culture wars and questions of personal liberty in the light of Covid restrictions. 

The hardline, traditional Conservatives in the party are feeling particularly burnt by Johnson. "He was the closest thing to someone who they felt ideologically aligned with they will probably ever see in charge of the party," says a government official. "They are now going to have to stomach someone who will inevitably be a lot softer." 

The softer, liberal Conservatives, who always found Johnson distasteful, are equally concerned that any new leader must be squeaky clean and as far from Johnson as is possible. 

Finally, the Johnson loyalists are seething at his treatment. In the eyes of one long-standing supporter, Johnson was "a giant" who was "cut down" by smaller, jealous figures. "I honestly think it was a stitch-up and now we have to find someone who simply doesn't exist: someone with his electoral appeal," the ally adds.

That said, most Conservatives seem optimistic they can move beyond this ugly business. "The party ultimately only cares about one thing: staying in power and keeping their jobs," says a former government official. "Johnson was that figure in 2019. Someone will emerge who they think, whether they like them or not, can win the next election. They will pretty much stomach anything if they think their jobs are safe," the former official adds. 

Taking over from Johnson is undeniably a daunting task. There is a huge range of people currently eying up the job, and they come from all across the party's broad ideological base. 

In the 12 years since taking power, the party has already seen a version of Conservatism that represents every point on that ideological base. The real challenge for whoever becomes the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is whether or not they can find something that can convince the public that, after all this time in power, this centuries-old party still has something new to offer.