UK politics: Meet the eight contenders vying to replace Boris Johnson
Eight politicians are vying to replace Boris Johnson as the next Conservative Party leader and British prime minister.
By the deadline of 18:00 BST on Tuesday evening, each of the contenders had gathered support from at least 20 Conservative lawmakers to progress through to a run-off vote on Wednesday.
And there's already been one high profile casualty, when Health Secretary Sajid Javid was apparently not able to secure enough endoresements from fellow MPs and had to drop out of the race minutes before the deadlin.
The final two candidates will be known before the end of next week, with a successor to Johnson in place by 5 September.
Here are the remaining contenders:
Rishi Sunak, former treasury chief
Sunak, 42, is the best-known of the party's potential leaders and a favorite of bookmakers to succeed Johnson.
His public profile rose after he became the UK's Treasury chief in 2020, a job that entailed overseeing the billions of pounds handed out during the coronavirus pandemic to help businesses and workers.
But he has faced criticism for not doing enough to ease the country's growing cost-of-living crisis. His popularity also took a dive after police fined him for attending one of the government's lockdown-flouting parties at Downing Street, home to the prime minister's office and official residence.
Sunak says the promises to cut taxes made by many rival candidates are “not credible” and that he would only reduce taxes after inflation is under control.
Liz Truss, foreign minister
Truss, 46, took on the high-profile Cabinet post in September after serving as trade minister. She is also the UK’s lead negotiator with the European Union on Brexit issue.
Truss, the UK's top diplomat, has made no secret of her leadership
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