Boris becomes bookies’ favourite

The populist leader of the Brexit campaign heads the field to replace David Cameron as prime minister.

Boris Johnson, the flamboyant former mayor of London, is not known for being modest or softspoken. But that is how he came across after his drive for a British exit from the European Union won a surprise victory – and immediately made him a top candidate to replace David Cameron as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.

Johnson’s blond mop of hair, quick sense of humour and outlandish ways endeared him to many Britons during his eight-year tenure as mayor of London. But beneath the bluster lies a shrewd politician whose campaign to break with a ‘‘failing, complacent and remote’’ EU bureaucracy secured a momentous victory.

When New York-born Johnson announced in 2015 that he planned to stand for election to Parliament, Cameron said: ‘‘I want my star players on the pitch.’’ That was before the two Conservatives found themselves on opposite sides of the referendum.

Johnson is indeed a star player – he triumphed to take the parliamentary seat in west London in May 2015. After leaving the mayor’s office last month, Johnson – nicknamed ‘‘BoJo’’ by the British media and public – positioned himself as a leading voice in the campaign to leave the EU.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph this week, Johnson said the referendum was more important to him than his future as a politician.

‘‘Frankly, if this is the end of my political career . . . I’ve done eight years as mayor of London, I enjoyed it hugely, it was a massive privilege. Fine by me,’’ he said.

Johnson said last week in response to a fisherman who made the suggestion that he would not end up as prime minister.

Still, bookmakers favour Johnson for the post. Other contenders include Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who has told the Telegraph he doesn’t want the role, as well as Finance Minister George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May, and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.

The Telegraph says it Johnson has always dodged questions about his desire to be prime minister, once saying it was as likely as being reincarnated as an olive or finding Elvis on Mars. understands that Johnson could install Gove as his Chancellor, and potentially move Osborne to the Foreign Office.

MPs are expected to start putting their names forward within days to a committee of backbenchers, ready for the parliamentary party to whittle this down to two names. The highly Eurosceptic party membership, which numbers about 150,000, will then have the final say on the list of two.

Johnson is very likely to be on that shortlist, given his leading role in delivering an ‘‘out’’ vote on behalf of about 130 Conservative MPs who wanted Brexit.

His stock rose sharply during the campaign. This has boosted support among the party’s grassroots, and suggests he has appeal among a wide constituency in the country as well.

Johnson has always dodged questions about his desire to be prime minister, once saying it was as likely as being reincarnated as an olive or finding Elvis on Mars. But it is now almost certain that he will throw his hat into the ring.

Many pro-EU Tory MPs are likely to want to rally around a candidate to stop Johnson. The most likely candidate for this is May, despite her having backed Cameron’s call for Britain to stay in the EU.

She kept a low profile during the campaign, refusing to campaign for Remain with the same force as Cameron and Osborne. This may allow her to pitch herself as a unifying bridge between the Eurosceptic and modernising wings of the party.

Her supporters may also value her reputation for seriousness and as a safe pair of hands in a crisis, which forms a sharp contrast with Johnson’s jovial image.

Throughout the campaign, May managed to keep above the day-to-day fray of the Tory feuding. She also has experience running one of the great offices of state for the past six years.

One MP intent on backing May told the Telegraph: ‘‘Theresa will be seen as the unity candidate. She is our best hope of blocking Boris from becoming prime minister.’’

A Conservative minister said: ‘‘It is important that we see a female candidate on the ballot paper this time around. There’s really one person in a position to do that, and it is Theresa.

‘‘Boris has a bit of a reputation for not being around in the Chamber much. He doesn’t have a very good reputation in the House, and he has upset people during the campaign.’’

In contrast, Osborne has seen his chances of succeeding Cameron effectively destroyed, after he campaigned so forcefully alongside the prime minister.

Among those who campaigned for Brexit, Andrea Leadsom, an energy minister, Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, Priti Patel, the employment minister, and Dominic Raab, the justice minister, could all possibly declare bids.

Leadsom is said by some Leave campaigners to have been preparing for a leadership bid for many months. In a contest, she would be likely to stress her background in finance to help steer Britain through rough economic times, or she could potentially try to stand on a joint ticket with Johnson in the hope of becoming chancellor.

Gove, a friend of both Cameron and Osborne, has always strongly denied he wants the top job but has consistently polled well in surveys of grassroots Conservatives in recent months.

As well as May, there are likely to be other MPs who campaigned for Remain who want to put up a fight against Johnson.

Candidates from the modernising wing of the party include Stephen Crabb, the work and pensions secretary, and Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, although they could find it very difficult to appeal to a pro-Brexit party membership.

Sources close to Morgan told Sky News she was considering standing, to carry on Cameron’s legacy.