Rishi Sunak held an emergency conference on Thursday 7 December where he defended his Rwanda scheme after Robert Jenrick quit as immigration minister the night before. The plan is supposed to see asylum seekers sent from the UK to the east-central African country, but has faced legal challenges and hefty delays. Now, there is lots of chatter about Rishi Sunak’s capabilities as PM and leader of the Conservative party.
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But who could replace him? Well, there has been some speculation that Suella Braverman made her scathing letter to Sunak public because she has her sights on the position. Boris Johnson, who is currently set to embark on a complete career change, is also a candidate to consider. Express recently asked its readers who they thought would be a good choice, and a surprise name came out on top.
Express asks its readers who should be the next Tory leader
The publication launched a poll to get their readers’ view on the matter; as of 6pm on Thursday 7 December, over 5,000 people had voted. And one person’s name gathered a surprising amount of support: Nigel Farage, the former Ukip and Brexit Party leader, came out as the voters’ number one choice. He topped the list with 41% of votes, despite not even being a Tory member.
Suella Braverman - whose real name is coincidentally not that - came in second with 22% of votes and Boris Johnson was third with 14%. This comes as the UK’s patience with Rishi Sunak is wearing thin, though Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden insisted yesterday that a leadership contest for the Tories would be ‘insanity’.
What is Nigel Farage doing now?
This is the odd bit: for those who don’t know, Farage is currently in the jungle. He is taking part in the reality TV show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and has already - unsurprisingly - ruffled a few feathers with his comments about the political world.
For example, his comments about the average day in the House of Lords - and the average pay, more importantly - sparked a lot of criticism from viewers. Farage himself knows he divides opinion: he has described himself as ‘a hero to some people and an absolute villain to millions’. So, an unlikely choice for the next Tory leader but, hey, Express readers have spoken.
Read more:
⋙ I'm A Celeb secret feud spotted as Nigel Farage appears to 'hate' this campmate
⋙ I'm A Celeb slammed for being the 'worse' as Nigel Farage takes off his shirt
⋙ Nigel Farage’s rumoured lover Laure Ferrari reveals what could happen to him in the jungle
Sources used:
BBC: Who is Nigel Farage? A quick guide to I'm a Celeb contestant
Express: Boris Johnson shock as ex-PM beaten by surprising candidate in next Tory leader poll
