Who is in the running to replace Liz Truss as prime minister?
Just last month Liz Truss told Britons they could “ride out the storm” in her first speech as prime minister – now she has resigned.
Here, Sky News looks at the runners and riders to replace the PM.
Live politics updates as Liz Truss resigns
Rishi Sunak
The former chancellor, who was runner-up to Ms Truss in the Tory leadership race, is favourite with the bookmakers to replace her.
He warned his rival that her tax-cutting plans would send the economy into free fall, accusing her of “fairytale economics” as she promised unfunded tax cuts.
Following the fallout from the mini-budget, supporters of Mr Sunak believe he has been vindicated. One MP who supported him in the leadership race told the Telegraph: “Everything he said has come to pass.”
Mr Sunak won every voting round among MPs in the Tory leadership race but there are question marks over whether he could reunite the party, having been seen to have played a key role in Boris Johnson’s exit as PM.
Penny Mordaunt
The leader of the Commons finished in third place in this summer’s Tory leadership race before she backed Ms Truss’s bid.
Sky News understands Ms Mordaunt is taking soundings from colleagues on whether to stand.
The former defence secretary also caused a stir at the Tory conference earlier this month when she said the party’s “comms is s***”.
In messages shared in Conservative Party WhatsApp groups, leaked to Sky News, Tory MP Crispin Blunt called for Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt to take over.
“Step forward Rishi and Penny, with our support and encouragement in the interests of us all,” he wrote.
Ms Mordaunt was sent to the Commons on behalf of Ms Truss to answer an urgent question on the sacking of former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Monday.
Denying that Ms Truss was hiding “under a desk”, Ms Mordaunt acknowledged the swirling rumours around the possibility of a joint ticket, telling MPs: “I fully understand the optics of me appearing at the despatch box.”
Ben Wallace
The defence secretary and former soldier is widely respected for the role he has played in the UK’s support for Ukraine.
He stayed neutral in the Tory leadership race before eventually backing Ms Truss.
There are doubts over whether he would want to be leader, having ruled himself out of this summer’s race despite being considered a frontrunner after “careful consideration and discussing with colleagues and family”.
The defence secretary told The Times on Tuesday that he wants to remain in his post amid speculation he could be a unity candidate to become PM.
Mr Wallace rebuked his Conservative colleagues for playing “political parlour games”, telling the newspaper: “The public wants stability and security and if the government fails to deliver that then they will send us into opposition.”
Asked if he wanted the keys to Number 10, he said: “I want to be the secretary of state for defence until I finish. I love the job I do and we have more to do. I want the prime minister to be the prime minister and I want to do this job.”
Mr Wallace’s only cabinet post has been defence secretary, which he has held since July 2019.
But he has signalled he would likely quit if the government ditches a key pledge to boost defence spending.
On Monday, new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt refused to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence, telling Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he was “not giving any answers on any specific elements” of tax and spending policy.
Boris Johnson
In his farewell address as PM, Mr Johnson fuelled speculation about a future return to frontline politics despite promising his “most fervent support” to his successor Ms Truss.
Mr Johnson compared himself to Roman statesman Cincinnatus, who battled against invasion before returning to his farm. According to tradition, Cincinnatus later returned to serve a second term.
Some Tory MPs are reportedly openly suggesting that the party asks Mr Johnson to return to Downing Street, despite being ousted just three months ago.
Former culture secretary and ally of the former PM, Nadine Dorries, is one of those openly calling for Mr Johnson’s return.
“Only one MP has a mandate from party members and from the British public – a mandate with an 80 seat majority. Boris Johnson,” she said.
James Duddridge, a former parliamentary private secretary to Boris Johnson, added that it is time for his boss to “come back”.
Both The Daily Telegraph and The Times are reporting that Mr Johnson is expected to stand for the leadership.
Sky News understands that former home secretary Priti Patel will back Mr Johnson if he chooses to run.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for Mr Johnson to be blocked from standing as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.
Suella Braverman
Ms Braverman was the first to declare she was running to be the next Conservative Party leader in the summer, praised as a figurehead of the right of the party for her hard-line views on Brexit and for denouncing “woke nonsense”.
She threw her hat in the ring for the Tory leadership even before Boris Johnson had officially resigned.
“I love this country. My parents came here with absolutely nothing and it was Britain that gave them hope, security and opportunity and afforded me incredible opportunities in education and my career,” she told ITV at the time.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to this country and to serve as prime minister would be the greatest honour so yes I will try.”
After her shock resignation for sharing secure information through a private email on Wednesday, Ms Braverman lashed out at Ms Truss’s “tumultuous” premiership and accused the government of “breaking key pledges” – including on immigration policy.
Ms Braverman, a former attorney general, only became home secretary on 6 September when Ms Truss brought her in to replace Priti Patel.
Her tenure as home secretary has been controversial, having accused Tory critics who successfully forced Ms Truss into U-turning over plans to scrap the top rate of income tax of a “coup”.
Jeremy Hunt
The new chancellor was brought in to replace the sacked Kwasi Kwarteng.
Seen by many in his party as a safe pair of hands, Mr Hunt has twice unsuccessfully tried to become Tory leader and has previously served as foreign secretary, health secretary and culture secretary.
In the leadership race this year, he backed Rishi Sunak over Ms Truss after getting eliminated from the contest himself in the first round of voting.
He was in the final two contenders to be Tory leader in 2019 – but lost to Boris Johnson by 66% to 34% in the members’ vote.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has said Mr Hunt should be the party’s next leader.
“Jeremy Hunt has in a few short days impressively exercised his known personal qualities and has made the first critical contribution to restoring the primacy of serving the national interest. He should complete this work as our next prime minister,” he said.
But Mr Hunt has seemingly ruled himself out of a third run at the top job, telling Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby: “I rule it out, Mrs Hunt rules it out, three Hunt children rule it out.”
And Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates understands Mr Hunt will not be running to replace Ms Truss.
Kemi Badenoch
A source close to rising star Kemi Badenoch has suggested to Sky News that she is set to stand in the leadership contest.
“Now that the prime minister has announced her resignation, the party must unite around a new leader who restores trust in politics and delivers good government for the British people,” the source said.
“Kemi is in conversations with colleagues about how best to achieve this.”
Ms Badenoch stood in the Conservative leadership race over the summer, coming fourth behind Mr Sunak, Ms Mordaunt and Ms Truss.
Little known beyond Tory circles at the start of the race, the former equalities minister was a favourite among members to the right of the party.
Her summer campaign focused on cultural issues which she said had divided the party in recent years.
Brandon Lewis
Sky News understands that the current justice secretary is taking soundings on whether to stand in the leadership election.
It is understood he could stand on a possible platform of being a pragmatist and a unifier.
Mr Lewis did not stand in the last leadership election, instead backing outgoing PM Liz Truss.
He has also served as Northern Ireland secretary.
UK
Specialist teams and online investigators deployed across England and Wales to tackle ‘national emergency’ of violence against women and girls
Specialist investigation teams for rape and sexual offences are to be created across England and Wales as the Home Secretary declares violence against women and girls a “national emergency”.
Shabana Mahmood said the dedicated units will be in place across every force by 2029 as part of Labour’s violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy due to be launched later this week.
The use of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs), which had been trialled in several areas, will also be rolled out across England and Wales. They are designed to target abusers by imposing curfews, electronic tags and exclusion zones.
The orders cover all forms of domestic abuse, including economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and ‘honour’-based abuse. Breaching the terms can carry a prison term of up to 5 years.
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Govt ‘thinking again’ on abuse strategy
Nearly £2m will also be spent funding a network of officers to target offenders operating within the online space.
Teams will use covert and intelligence techniques to tackle violence against women and girls via apps and websites.
A similar undercover network funded by the Home Office to examine child sexual abuse has arrested over 1,700 perpetrators.
Abuse is ‘national emergency’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement: “This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency.
“For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That’s not good enough. We will halve it in a decade.
“Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide.”
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Angiolini Inquiry: Recommendations are ‘not difficult’
The target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is a Labour manifesto pledge.
The government said the measures build on existing policy, including facial recognition technology to identify offenders, improving protections for stalking victims, making strangulation a criminal offence and establishing domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms.
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Labour has ‘failed women’
But the Conservatives said Labour had “failed women” and “broken its promises” by delaying the publication of the violence against women and girls strategy.
Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said that Labour “shrinks from uncomfortable truths, voting against tougher sentences and presiding over falling sex-offender convictions. At every turn, Labour has failed women.”
There have been no migrant arrivals in small boats crossing the Channel for 28 days, according to Home Office figures.
The last recorded arrivals were on 14 November, making it the longest uninterrupted run since autumn 2018 after no reported arrivals on Friday.
However, a number of Border Force vessels were active in the English Channel on Saturday morning, indicating that there may be arrivals today.
So far, 39,292 people have crossed to the UK aboard small boats this year – already more than any other year except 2022.
The record that year was set at 45,774 arrivals.
It comes as the government has stepped up efforts in recent months to deter people from risking their lives crossing the Channel – but measures are not expected to have an impact until next year.
Debris of a small boat used by people thought to be migrants to cross the Channel lays amongst the sand dunes in Gravelines, France. Pic: PA
December is normally one of the quietest for Channel crossings, with a combination of poor visibility, low temperatures, less daylight and stormy weather making the perilous journey more difficult.
The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy met with ministers from other European countries this week as discussions over possible reform to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) continue.
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France agrees to start intercepting small boats
The issue of small boat arrivals – a very small percentage of overall UK immigration – has become a salient issue in British politics in recent years.
Last month, French maritime police announced they would soon be able to intercept boats in the English Channel.
The King has shared in a television address that, thanks to early diagnosis, his cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year.
In a televised address, Charles said his “good news” was “thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders”.
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years,” he added.
“Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50% of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.”
The King announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment.
The monarch postponed all public-facing engagements, but continued with his duties as head of state behind palace walls, conducting audiences and Privy Council meetings.
He returned to public duties in April last year and visited University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London with the Queen and discussed his “shock” at being diagnosed when he spoke to a fellow cancer patient.
Sources suggested last December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was “moving in a positive direction”.
The King began returning to public duties in April last year. File pic: PA
The King has chosen not to reveal what kind of cancer he has been treated for. Palace sources have partly put that down to the fact that he doesn’t want one type of cancer to appear more significant or attract more attention than others.
In a statement after the speech aired, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “His Majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase.”
Sir Keir Starmer praised the video message as “a powerful message,” and said: “I know I speak for the entire country when I say how glad I am that his cancer treatment will be reduced in the new year.
“Early cancer screening saves lives.”
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Watch: King Charles gives update on treatment
Early detection can give ‘the precious gift of hope’
His message on Friday was broadcast at 8pm in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.
In an appeal to people to get screened for the disease early, the King said: “I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming.
“Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams – and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope. These are gifts we can all help deliver.”
Charles noted that “at least nine million people in our country are not up to date with the cancer screenings available to them,” adding: “That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed.
“The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in ten people survive for at least five years.
“When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in ten. Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives.”
Minor inconvenience of screening ‘a small price to pay’
The King acknowledged that people often avoid screening “because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable”. But, he added: “If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part.
“A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don’t need further tests, or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow.”
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Giving his “most heartfelt thanks” to doctors, nurses, researchers and charity workers, the King added: “As I have observed before, the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion. But compassion must be paired with action.
“This December, as we gather to reflect on the year past, I pray that we can each pledge, as part of our resolutions for the year ahead, to play our part in helping to catch cancer early.
“Your life – or the life of someone you love – may depend upon it.”
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