In the midst of a political storm, Boris Johnson does not let go of the bar.

Faced with a cascade of resignations, between Tuesday July 5 and Wednesday July 6, the British Prime Minister nevertheless affirmed his determination to "continue" the mandate entrusted to him, despite a context which weakens him against a backdrop of repeated scandals. .

“We will continue to fulfill the mandate entrusted to me,” declared the head of government, during a weekly session of questions in Parliament, which was particularly electric.

"A Prime Minister's job in difficult circumstances, when he has been given a colossal mandate, is to carry on, and that is what I will do," he added.

>> To read also: United Kingdom: despite the failure of the vote of no confidence, the "beginning of the end" for Boris Johnson?

Even if Boris Johnson clings to power, his position seems increasingly weakened in Downing Street.

And several names are circulating to replace him if he were to leave his post as Prime Minister.

• Rishi Sunak

The Chancellor of the Exchequer [equivalent to the Minister of Finance], the first Hindu to hold this position, resigned with a bang from the government on Tuesday.

His resignation places him on the side of the favorites to replace Boris Johnson, who had lost ground because of his fortune and the tax arrangements of his wealthy wife, frowned upon in the midst of a purchasing power crisis.

Rishi Sunak, whose grandparents emigrated from northern India to the UK in the 1960s, was an analyst at Goldman Sachs and then employed in hedge funds.

He became an MP in 2015. The 42-year-old Brexit advocate became finance minister in 2020 but has been criticized for insufficient action on soaring prices.

• Sajid Javid

The Minister of Health also left the government on Tuesday.

He had already resigned in 2020 from his post as Minister of Finance.

Sajid Javid, 52, voted in 2016 to remain in the European Union but later rallied to the cause of Brexit.

He is the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, and became a renowned banker before entering politics.

• Ben Wallace

The 52-year-old defense minister is more popular than ever amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Although he has always denied being interested in the leadership of the Conservative Party, he is seen by the Tories as a frank and competent figure.

• Penny Mordaunt

Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Penny Mordaunt, 49, was a leading figure in the Brexit campaign in 2016, and has been working to broker trade deals ever since.

This Royal Navy reservist is considered a good speaker.

According to some polls, she has recently risen in popularity among conservatives, and is seen as a serious option should the prime minister be replaced.

• Jeremy Hunt

Former Foreign and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, 55, lost to Boris Johnson in the 2019 election for the party leadership.

A comrade of Boris Johnson and David Cameron at Oxford University, Jeremy Hunt, who taught English in Japan, is one of the few figures to have openly challenged the Prime Minister during the vote of no confidence last month .

However, he is considered uncharismatic.

• Liz Truss

Her outspokenness and willingness to meddle in the culture wars has made the foreign minister quite popular with the Tory base.

Liz Truss, 46, was given this delicate position as a reward for her work as Minister of International Trade.

In this position, this champion of free trade – who had voted in favor of remaining in the EU before switching sides – concluded a series of post-Brexit trade agreements.

• Nadhim Zahawi

The newly minted finance minister is respected among Britons following the success of the Covid vaccination campaign he oversaw.

Born in Baghdad to Kurdish parents in June 1967, he immigrated to the UK aged 9.

He founded the market research company YouGov in 2000, resigned ten years later to enter politics and was elected as an MP.

He had been appointed Minister of Education in September 2021.

• Tom Tugendhat

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons was the first to announce that he intended to stand if Boris Johnson was ousted from power.

A former member of the British Army, Tom Tugendhat, 49, served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With AFP

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