1. Boris Johnson 5/4
Pedigree: 54. Former Foreign Secretary and blond figurehead of Britain’s second most famous family.
Stabling: New York-born. Schools: Camden and Eton. University: Oxford. First job: Brussels (but sacked from his posting there with The Times).
Form: Elected twice, against the odds, as mayor of Labour-heavy London.
Strength: Charismatic and the darling of the Tory grassroots like Tarzan Heseltine was years ago. But look what happened to Hezza!
Weakness: Unpopular among fellow MPs. A ‘Stop Boris’ campaign is under way.
Odds: Overwhelming favourite.
2. Dominic Raab 6/1
Pedigree: 45. Former Brexit Secretary. Diehard Brussels-baiter.
Stabling: Son of a Jewish Czech-born refugee who fled to Britain in 1938. Oxford and Cambridge-educated solicitor before becoming an MP.
Form: Failed to use his renowned judo skills to outfox EU panjandrums and lasted just five months as Brexit Secretary.
Strength: Fans call him ‘the male Margaret Thatcher’.
Weakness: Often seems cold and lacks people skills. Recent photo-call in his kitchen with a vase of lilies was a creepy PR stunt.
Odds: Second in ConservativeHome’s league table, with 15 per cent of votes.
3. Michael Gove 10/1
Pedigree: 51. Environment Secretary. Intellectual titan and Brexiteer paterfamilias.
Stabling: Adopted son of a Scottish fish merchant. Became a high profile journalist on The Times.
Form: Big beast in the 2016 Leave campaign. Has been so loyal to Mrs May that he’d have made a perfect guard dog at No 10.
Strength: Often wheeled out for interviews, being a debater with razor sharp skills.
Weakness: Still haunted by claims of disloyalty after knifing Boris Johnson in last leadership contest.
Odds: Third in ConservativeHome league table with 8.4 per cent of the vote.
4. Andrea Leadsom 12/1
Pedigree: 56. Former Environment Secretary. Resigned this week as Leader of the Commons. Ardent Brexiteer.
Stabling: Former City trader. Mother of three.
Form: Struggled in her first Cabinet post as Environment Secretary but blossomed as Leader of the Commons. Her spats with Speaker John Bercow merited £100 ringside seats.
Strength: Praised for resigning on Wednesday, triggering Mrs May’s defenestration.
Weakness: Her maladroit campaign to be leader in 2016 included a deeply insensitive comment about Mrs May being childless.
Odds: Conservative-Home table had her top for competency
5. Jeremy Hunt 14/1
Pedigree: 52. Foreign Secretary. A Remainer who converted to Brexit. First Cabinet member to tell May to scrap Brexit bill this week.
Stabling: Eldest son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt. Married to a Chinese wife whom he accidentally referred to as Japanese. Worth around £15million after selling publisher he set up before politics.
Form: Longest serving Health Secretary in history.
Strength: Has few enemies. Colleagues believe he could unite party on Brexit.
Weakness: Some regard him as a ‘bit of a drip’.
Odds: 4th place in ConservativeHome league table.
6. Penny Mourdant 20/1
Pedigree: 46. First female Defence Secretary. Supported Leave before referendum.
Stabling: Cared for younger brother after their mother died. Worked as a magician’s assistant to pay for college.
Form: Only female MP to be a Royal Naval Reservist.
Strength: Has a strong sense of duty and popular among service veterans.
Weakness: Inexperienced, having been in Cabinet for less than two years. Still trying to live down her belly-flop on the ITV reality TV diving show Splash!
Odds: 16th in the ConservativeHome league table.
7. Sajid Javid 25/1
Pedigree: 49. Home Secretary. Remainer who changed his spots to Brexit after referendum.
Stabling: Often reminds voters he’s the son of a bus driver who came to Britain from Pakistan and ‘worked every hour God sent’. First person from an Asian background to hold one of the great offices of State.
Form: Lifted cap on immigration for NHS doctors and nurses but says there is ‘nothing racist about managed migration’.
Strength: An extraordinary personal story. Would be Britain’s first (non-practising) Muslim PM.
Weakness: Wooden speaker. Lacks charisma.
Odds: 5th in the league table.
AND Rory Stewart 25/1
Pedigree: 46. International Development Secretary and former Prisons minister. Staunch defender of May’s deal.
Stabling: While at Oxford he tutored Princes William and Harry. Was a regional governor in Iraq after Coalition invasion. Cruelly nicknamed ‘Florence of Arabia’.
Form: Declared his leadership ambitions before even in the Cabinet.
Strength: Untainted by fellow ministers’ failure over Brexit.
Weakness: Most inexperienced candidate. Unpopular with hard Brexiteers.
Odds: Edged into 6th in Conservative-Home league table.
8. Liz Truss 50/1
Pedigree: 43. Chief Secretary to Treasury. Remainer who would now vote Brexit.
Stabling: Raised by Left-wing parents who took her on anti-Thatcher protests.
Form: Unrelenting advocate of cutting red tape. Once said ‘the British are among the worst idlers in the world’.
Strength: Free-marketeer whose social media activity is popular among young Tories.
Weakness: Poor public speaker. Image-obsessed and accused by some of using Downing Street as a catwalk. Posed for a recent fashion shoot for a Sunday glossy.
Odds: Risen to 7th in the league table.
AND Matt Hancock 50/1
Pedigree: 40. Health Secretary with six years’ ministerial experience. Former arch Remainer who supported May’s bill.
Stabling: Father lived in a council house. Worked in family’s computer software business before becoming key aide to Chancellor George Osborne.
Form: Cabinet minister for 18 months. Launched his own ‘Matt Hancock’ smartphone application.
Strength: Enthusiastic and brainy. His youth is said to appeal to those who – in the cliche – wish to ‘skip a generation’.
Weakness: Crassly likened himself to Churchill.
Odds: Sits at 12th in the league table.
9. Esther McVey 66/1
Pedigree: 51. Former Welfare Secretary. An ardent Brexiteer.
Stabling: As a child, spent her first two years in foster care. Was a breakfast TV presenter before ore becoming an MP.
Form: As a minister was subjected by Labour to appalling ‘lynch Esther McVey’ abuse over the roll-out of the Universal Credit system. With fellow MP and fiance Philip Davies, part of a Westminster power couple.
Strength: Won plaudits for resigning from Cabinet over Brexit. Tough, telegenic and Liverpudlian.
Weakness: Some colleagues say she is as flyaway as her hair – and too glossy.
Odds: Ranked 14th in the league table.
10. Steve Baker 100/1
Pedigree: 47. Not knowingly undersold, having described himself as a ‘Brexit hardman’. Cornishman now decamped to Home Counties.
Stabling: Oxford-educated RAF Flight Lieutenant who became a software engineer.
Form: Henchman of Mrs May’s nemesis, the European Research Group. His style has been likened to a man who enjoys torturing insects.
Strength: Obsession for a No Deal Brexit is unsurpassed. Popular among grassroots.
Weakness: Zealous approach has invited ridicule.
Odds: Not even in ConservativeHome’s latest 26-strong leadership list.
AND Sir Graham Brady 100/1
Pedigree: 52. Supported Brexit before referendum.
Stabling: Grammar school-educated. Worked in public affairs before being elected in 1997.
Form: Resigned as chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee this week to run for leader.
Strength: Authoritative figure who gained respect for marshalling backbenchers.
Weakness: Lacks grassroots support. Bland in the extreme, typified by his own description on his website: ‘Graham enjoys gardening but likes to spend as much spare time as possible with his children.’
Odds: Sits at 19th in the league table.
