Who will replace Boris Johnson? Latest odds for the next prime minister

Tory leadership hopefuls are jockeying for position as they bid to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Mr Johnson announced he would quit last week following an avalanche of ministerial resignations and cabinet walkouts.

However, he has said he will remain in office until the Conservative Party is able to elect his successor.

This could take several weeks and some within the party are calling for the process to start as soon as possible, rather than the autumn – Mr Johnson has vowed to stay until then.

Here are the latest odds from BetFair Exchange on who is the favourite to take the Tory crown.

Rishi Sunak, Richmond (Yorkshire) MP and former chancellor: 2/1

Penny Mordaunt, Portsmouth North MP and international trade minister: 7/2

Liz Truss, South West Norfolk MP and foreign secretary: 9/2

Tom Tugendhat, Tonbridge and Malling MP and foreign affairs select committee chair : Between 11/1 and 12/1

Kemi Badenoch, Saffron Walden MP and former equalities minister: 16/1

Jeremy Hunt, South West Surrey MP and former foreign secretary: 21/1

Sajid Javid, Bromsgrove MP and former health secretary: 31/1

Nadhim Zahawi, Stratford-on-Avon MP and chancellor: 35/1

Suella Braverman, Fareham MP attorney general for England and Wales: 49/1

Grant Shapps, Welwyn Hatfield MP and transport secretary: 94/1

Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, has overall responsibility for organising leadership contests.

The timetable for a contest is agreed by the committee and Tory Party HQ, with a new Tory leader expected to be in place by the party conference in October.

Both Tory MPs and Conservative Party members play a decisive role in electing the next leader.

Tory MPs will whittle down the candidates to a final two through a balloting process, with party members then voting on which of the two candidates they would prefer.

The first stage sees the number of candidates whittled down, with a series of ballots.

If necessary, across multiple ballots, the candidates with the lowest number of votes are eliminated and MPs are re-balloted until only two candidates are left.

For example, during the 2019 leadership contest to replace Theresa May, which saw Boris Johnson elected leader, there were initially 10 candidates in the first ballot, with several rounds of balloting taking place until only Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt were left.

At this stage, the two MPs left will face a vote of Conservative Party members.

It means that members of the party will get their say on who should be the leader of the Conservative Party, as well as the next prime minister.