Could a veteran replace Boris Johnson?

Boris Johnson is leaving 10 Downing Street by autumn, with a summer Conservative leadership race now on the cards after multiple Cabinet resignations.

Here's a list of likely runners and riders and, where applicable, their military background.

New snap YouGov polling (data 6-7 July) of 716 Conservative party members shows 13% – 93 of them – would like to see Defence Secretary Ben Wallace become party leader to replace Boris Johnson.

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Here's what the list looks like.

Ben Wallace (13% or 93/716) – serving Defence Secretary

The straight-talking former Army officer has won admirers within the Conservative Party after securing an increase in defence spending.

However, an extra £24bn pledged over four years in late 2020 has already been swallowed by a nuclear deterrent submarine replacement, according to Defence Select Committee chair Tobias Ellwood, and criticism is still being levelled at the UK’s decision to cut Army troop numbers in an era of emerging threats.

Mr Wallace backs pressure for more defence spending but has consistently supported Mr Johnson – prioritising political stability at a time of war on European soil.

However, more exposure as a key voice on the Ukraine war and Russia means he is a favourite to replace the outgoing Prime Minister.

Mr Wallace was commissioned into the Scots Guards at 20 years of age and during the 1990s served in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and Central America. In 1992 he was mentioned in dispatches.

Penny Mordaunt (12% or 86/716) – the Royal Navy reservist

The daughter of a paratrooper-turned-teacher, Ms Mordaunt is a Royal Navy reservist and now a bookies frontrunner to become Prime Minister.

Now a minister at the Department of International Trade, she became the UK's first female Defence Secretary in 2019.

Ms Mordaunt lasted 85 days in the post, replaced by Ben Wallace as part of a Boris Johnson reshuffle.

She played a key role in the 2016 Brexit campaign and previously worked as Minister of State for the Armed Forces from May 2015 until July 2016 and Parliamentary Private Secretary to then-defence secretary Philip Hammond.

Rishi Sunak (10% or 72/716) – the former chancellor

The former Chancellor, who resigned on Tuesday, was received as a figure of composure during COVID and was behind the popular furlough scheme when the pandemic struck.

His stock took a tumble more recently, following disclosures that his wife had non-dom status for tax purposes, and that he was too slow to respond to the cost-of-living crisis.

Nonetheless, he features as a frontrunner.

Liz Truss (8% or 57/716) – the ambitious Foreign Secretary

As serving Foreign Secretary, Ms Truss has taken a hard line on Ukraine, insisting Russian forces must be driven from the country.

While the speed of foreign humanitarian aid delivery from the UK has been criticised in recent weeks, Ms Truss has backed calls from military top brass for more advanced weaponry to be sent to bolster defences against Russia.

She has threatened to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU which could play well with sections of the Conservative Party.

Dominic Raab (7% or 50/716) –  Deputy PM 

Mr Raab is the Deputy Prime Minister and the Justice Secretary and has previously stood in for Mr Johnson in 2020 after the UK leader spent time in hospital with COVID.

He was Foreign Secretary during the Afghanistan evacuation mission in Kabul and has faced criticism for his leadership at the time, including when he was on holiday.

However, Mr Johnson's former chief aid Dominic Cummings has suggested Dominic Raab should stand in as a caretaker premier.

Michael Gove (7% or 50/716) – sacked by Johnson

The former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, was fired by Boris Johnson 

Mr Gove was thought to have told the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning that it was time for him to quit.

Michael became a journalist after leaving university and has since come third in both 2016 and 2019 party leadership races.

Tom Tugendhat (6% or 43/716) – the ex-soldier who wants the job

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee became the first to announce his intention to stand for leader should Mr Johnson depart – with his declaration made in January.

He served as part of the Territorial Army and was based in Afghanistan for four years. Mr Tugendhat also served in Iraq, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

A Remainer in 2016, the former soldier has been a trenchant critic of Mr Johnson – a stance that would appear to have cost him any chance of ministerial preferment under the Johnson leadership.

He recently sought to distance himself from a call by his fellow Remainer, Tobias Ellwood, for the UK to rejoin the EU single market.

Jeremy Hunt (5% or 36/716) – the 2019 runner-up

The former Foreign Secretary and ex-Health Secretary has been a persistent backbench critic of Mr Johnson and, as Chairman of the Commons Health Committee, has made a number of critical interventions on the Government's handling of the COVID pandemic. His strong support for lockdown measures will not have pleased all Conservative MPs.

Nadhim Zahawi (5% or 36/716) – the new Chancellor

The former Education Secretary is regarded by some as a "safe pair of hands" if other candidates prove too divisive – trusted to take on the broadcast round of interviews on Wednesday morning, on his first full day in his new job as Chancellor.

Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed Chancellor on Tuesday evening, has told Prime Minister Boris Johnson to "do the right thing and go now".

Sajid Javid (4% or 29/716) – the ex-Health Secretary who sparked Cabinet resignations

State school-educated Mr Javid – known as "The Saj" in some circles – is the son of a bus driver who arrived in England from Pakistan in the 1960s, and held ministerial roles in housing, business and culture before becoming Chancellor, and then Health Secretary in the middle of the pandemic.

Mr Javid made it to the final four in the contest to replace Theresa May as party leader in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Mr Johnson.

He told reporters after his resignation on Tuesday evening that he was looking forward to spending time with his family.

Priti Patel (3% or 21/716) – the Home Secretary

In her role as Home Secretary since 2019, Ms Patel has oversight over the Security Service and responsibility over the National Security Council.

She had wanted to see the Royal Navy help push back migrants travelling from France to the UK via the English Channel, but the MOD rejected the idea in early 2022.

There are reports Ms Patel spoke on behalf of other ministers in asking Boris Johnson to step down.

Stephen Barclay (1% or 7/716) – the loyal servant

Under the outgoing leader and his predecessor Theresa May, Mr Barclay has made proven to be a Prime Minister's ideal minister– making little noise and remaining loyal in the rise to the top as the new Health Secretary.

May made him Brexit Secretary in 2018 after David Davis resigned in protest.

Of the 716 questioned, 12% said "none of the above" candidates and 9% said they didn't know.