Liz Truss quits as UK PM: Who are the front-runners to replace her?

British Prime Miner Liz Truss resigned Thursday — after a tumultuous, short-lived term in which her policies triggered turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in her party that diminished her authority.
A growing number of lawmakers had called for Truss to resign after weeks of turmoil sparked her economic plan. Hers is the third resignation a Conservative prime miner in as many years and leaves a divided party seeking a leader who can unify its warring factions.
Here are the front-runners for the post of the next UK Prime Miner:
Rishi Sunak
Sunak, who ran against Truss in the Conservative leadership election this summer, remains Sky Bet’s favorites with the bookmaker paying out £7 ($7.83) for every £4 bet on the ex-chancellor, Bloomberg reported.
Sunak, who lost out to Truss’ now failed tax-cutting agenda in the leadership race last month, is seen as a key contender to step up to the post. But the picture remains extremely uncertain due to deep infighting within Tory ranks.
Jeremy Hunt
New chancellor Jeremy Hunt has climbed the l of favorites after less than a week in the role, with bets on Hunt at 4/1.
A former health and foreign miner, Hunt ripped up Truss’s economic manifesto, leading to some Conservative lawmakers referring to him as the “real prime miner”. He has insed he does not want the top job, despite entering two previous races to become prime miner, including in 2019 when he lost out in the final round to former prime miner Boris Johnson.
Penny Mordaunt
A former defence secretary, Mordaunt was a passionate supporter of leaving the European Union. She won plaudits for her performance in parliament on Monday, when she defended the government even as it reversed most of its policies. A lawmaker said Mordaunt has the ability to find friends in the various tribes of the party. Bets on Leader of the House of Commons Mordaunt were also at 4/1.
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer has slipped down the l of likely candidates, suggesting bookies favor an internal Tory replacement rather than a general election, with odds on the Labour leader down to 8/1 from 3/1 at Sky Bet, the Bloomberg report stated.
Starmer has renewed his call for a general election as the only way out of the “pathetic squabbles” within the governing party.
Boris Johnson
Sky Bet sees speculation of former prime miner Boris Johnson returning to Number 10, Downing Street. Johnson was the face of the Brexit vote and won votes in parts of the country that had never voted Conservative before. But he was forced out a string of scandals.
Loyals of former Prime Miner Boris Johnson believe the party should bring him back, given his solid electoral mandate from the 2019 general election. However, Truss’ current troubles are reminiscent of how Johnson was dragged out of office and forced to resign in early July amid an open revolt a growing number of his MPs and miners.
Ben Wallace
A former soldier, Britain’s defence secretary Wallace is one of the few miners to have emerged from recent political turmoil with his credibility enhanced. Wallace was defence miner for both Johnson and Truss, and is popular with party members.
With inputs from agencies