<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The race to replace Britain's Boris Johnson as Conservative leader and prime minister is underway, with nine candidates already declared and more Tory MPs likely to join.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>While several possible successors are seen as frontrunners, there is no clear favourite -- and such contests are notoriously volatile.</div><div><br></div><div>- Rishi Sunak -</div><div>The UK's first Hindu finance minister, Sunak quit on Tuesday and declared he was standing three days later.</div><div><br></div><div>Long seen as Johnson's most likely successor, his prospects were dented earlier this year by questions over his private wealth and family's tax arrangements.</div><div><br></div><div>But a recent poll of Conservative members who will eventually vote for their new leader put him on top.</div><div><br></div><div>Sunak, 42, has a high profile on social media -- launching his bid in a slick video posted to Twitter -- and won plaudits for shoring up the economy during the pandemic.</div><div><br></div><div>But his apparent reluctance to embrace the immediate tax cuts being promised by rivals could harm his prospects.</div><div><br></div><div>- Jeremy Hunt -</div><div>Former foreign and health secretary Hunt, 55, lost to Johnson in 2019, but confirmed Saturday he will run again.</div><div><br></div><div>A supporter of remaining inside the European Union during the 2016 referendum, he has revealed Brexiteer Ester McVey will be his deputy if he wins.</div><div><br></div><div>A fluent Japanese speaker lacking Johnson's charisma, he has also vowed to cut corporation tax from 25 to 15 percent.</div><div><br></div><div>- Liz Truss -</div><div><br></div><div>Foreign Secretary Truss is widely expected to stand but is yet to say so.</div><div><br></div><div>The 46-year-old is popular among Conservative members for her outspokenness.</div><div><br></div><div>But that has also stoked questions about her judgement, for instance when in February she encouraged Britons to fight in Ukraine.</div><div><br></div><div>Critics say her leadership posturing is too overt.</div><div><br></div><div>When she headed the Department for International Trade, some MPs dubbed it the "Department for Instagramming Truss" because of her prolific output on the social media site.</div><div><br></div><div>- Sajid Javid -</div><div><br></div><div>Javid, who also quit as health secretary Tuesday and had previously resigned as finance minister in 2020, announced his candidacy Saturday.</div><div><br></div><div>The 52-year-old son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver was previously a high-flying banker.</div><div><br></div><div>Like Sunak, he also faces questions about his personal wealth and tax affairs but tried to brush them off in media interviews Sunday, promising a raft of tax cuts.</div><div><br></div><div>- Nadhim Zahawi -</div><div><br></div><div>Newly appointed finance minister Zahawi was praised for overseeing Britain's pandemic vaccines rollout, before helming the education department.</div><div><br></div><div>The 55-year-old is a former refugee from Iraq who came to Britain as a child speaking no English. Before entering politics, he co-founded the prominent polling company YouGov.</div><div><br></div><div>But his private wealth has also drawn adverse attention, including when he claimed parliamentary expenses for heating his horse stables.</div><div><br></div><div>His fledgling campaign was endangered Sunday after newspapers reported he is being investigated by UK tax authorities, though he has denied wrongdoing.</div><div><br></div><div>- Tom Tugendhat -</div><div><br></div><div>The prominent backbencher who chairs parliament's influential Foreign Affairs Committee was the first to launch his bid.</div><div><br></div><div>A former army officer who served in the Middle East, he is also a hawk on China and been critical of the government's handling of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.</div><div><br></div><div>The 49-year-old is pitching himself as a "clean start" after Johnson's turbulent three-year tenure.</div><div><br></div><div>- Penny Mordaunt -</div><div><br></div><div>Mordaunt, 49, the first woman to have been UK defence secretary and currently a trade minister, was the latest to join the contest, announcing in a video posted to social media Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>A strong Brexit supporter and key figure in the 2016 "Leave" campaign, she has been tipped as a potential unity candidate who could draw support from the Conservative party's warring factions.</div><div><br></div><div>- Suella Braverman -</div><div><br></div><div>Attorney general and arch-Brexiteer Braverman declared her campaign in mid-week media interviews.</div><div><br></div><div>The 42-year-old is popular within the party for her Euroscepticism. She is one of 28 so-called "Spartan" Tory MPs, who refused to back ex-Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal on all three occasions it was voted on in parliament.</div><div><br></div><div>- Grant Shapps -</div><div><br></div><div>Transport Secretary Shapps emerged onto the crowded field on Saturday, also promising tax cuts and competent government.</div><div><br></div><div>The 53-year-old is seen as an effective communicator and campaigner, but considered a long shot for the top job.</div><div><br></div><div>- Kemi Badenoch -</div><div><br></div><div>Former equalities minister Badenoch, who resigned Wednesday, has the lowest profile of the current contenders and is another unlikely victor.</div><div><br></div><div>The 42-year-old has promised to tell "the truth", saying people are "exhausted by platitudes and empty rhetoric". Source: AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>