Mr Shapps pledged to end “regular government from an often distracted centre”. He joins a leadership race that includes former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who announced his candidacy on Friday, pledging to “restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunify the country”. Mr Sunak resigned from the Treasury shortly after Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary on Tuesday, triggering a wave of resignations that eventually led to Mr Johnson’s downfall. He has won the endorsement of a number of Tory MPs, including former Tory chairman Oliver Dowden and former cabinet minister Liam Fox. Tories take sides as race to succeed Johnson heats up – politics live Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was the bookies’ favorite to succeed Johnson, but announced on Saturday that he would not last. Read more: Who are the frontrunners for the next prime minister? Wallace had emerged as the clear favorite in the latest YouGov poll of Conservative Party members – beating Mr Sunack, as well as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Defense Secretary Penny Mordant who have yet to reveal whether they will back the leadership. Tom Tugendhat, the veteran and chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, became the first MP to announce his candidacy to become the party’s new leader on Thursday. Image: Tory MP Tom Tugendhat was the first MP to announce his candidacy for the Conservative leadership Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch also announced her intention to run, revealing plans to radically reduce the size of the state and preside over a “limited government focused on the basics”. Mr Javid is understood to be considering whether to run for the leadership. Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, is understood to have ruled himself out of the race for the top job, as was former senior secretary Michael Gove, who was sacked by Johnson before his own resignation. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 5:20 The fall of Boris Johnson Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also confirmed he will not stand. Johnson’s government has been in freefall after a series of scandals, including partygate and, more recently, allegations against disgraced deputy leader Chris Pincher, which the prime minister initially denied knowledge of. Johnson announced his resignation in a speech to the nation outside Downing Street on Thursday. But it is unclear when he will leave Downing Street and he has faced calls from some MPs for him to leave immediately.
