Politics

Jeremy Hunt new favourite to replace Johnson

Jeremy Hunt has taken over as the new favourite to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party, according to the latest betting odds.

The chance of Boris Johnson being replaced as prime minister in 2022 has now risen to 46 per cent, up from 33 per cent in the last week, according to the Smarkets betting exchange.

Hunt has now taken over as favourite to be the next Tory leader.

Liz Truss has dropped back into second place with Ben Wallace, Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt following close behind in what looks a wide-open race.

Local elections odds

Meanwhile, the latest prices for next week’s local elections suggest a high chance of some key Labour victories including the London councils of Wandsworth and Barnet, as well as the newly created Croydon mayoralty.

Smarkets head of political markets, Matthew Shaddick, said: “Next week’s local elections do not look very promising for the Conservatives, and Johnson may well come under even more pressure if the betting is anything to go by.

“The Tories look set to lose some notable contests in London and may well fall back into third place in Scotland.

“As a result, the market on who’ll replace him is hotting up and Jeremy Hunt has now taken over as favourite to be the next Tory leader.”

Related: Penny Mordaunt hails Brexit win as Britain signs trade deal…. with Jordan

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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