Boris Johnson's Downing Street was stormed by chaos and political crisis for the past three years as his premiership tenure was marred by back-to-back controversies and scandals. For Johnson, it was a beleaguered term at 10 Downing Street, which was further inflamed by the Tory-triggered setback as the resignations of some of his confidantes had made Johnson give up what he described as the best job in the world.  

Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and a series of scandals- if you ask for a precise description of Johnson's term, these trio would suffice as his days at the office revolved around these factors and what made put him on a hotbed was his decision to appoint Tory MP Chris Pincher and later, Johnson admitted that his decision was a mistake. Pincher was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. However, amid facing allegations, then Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him as Government's Deputy Chief Whip. 

After Boris Johnson became the Prime Minister in 2019, Pincher was appointed Minister of State for Europe and the Americas. In February 2020, Johnson made Pincher Minister of State for Housing and two years later, in February 2022, the Tory MP returned to his former role as Government Deputy Chief Whip. After the allegations of sexual misconduct against Pincher had sparked a row across the country, he resigned from the post on June 30, 2022. 

His appointment had awarded an adverse impact on Boris Johnson and it played a vital role in his exit. It came to light that Johnson had lied that he was not aware of Pincher's antecedents before hiring him to his administration. Later, in his efforts to swim from the inundation of crisis, Johnson admitted that it was his mistake of hiring Pincher. But, it only ended up triggering turmoil. The exertion of Johnson to save his job ultimately failed as he had announced he would be stepping down as the Prime Minister.

He is now a caretaker Prime Minister as the UK awaits a new leadership. For several ministers in Johnson's cabinet, the Pincher row had convinced them to rebel against Johnson and within two days, the revolt led by Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, had seen the mass resignations of over 50 members from the ruling administration. Speaking before 10 Downing Street on Thursday, Boris Johnson said, "It now clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of the party and therefore, a new Prime Minister." 

He further said, "I have agreed with Sir Graham Brady and the chairman of our backbench MPs that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week. I have appointed a cabinet to serve. I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019 - many of them voting Conservative for the first time, thank you for that incredible mandate." "I know that there will be many who are relieved but perhaps quite a few who will be disappointed and I want you to know how sad I am to give up the best job in the world", Johnson added. 

Britons await a new Prime Minister, let's take a look at Johson's possible successors,

Ben Wallace 

According to a YouGov poll and intimate reports, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is top of the table to succeed Boris Johnson. Wallace has been pivotal in the UK's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A senior Tory MP, Wallace has been serving as Defence Secretary since July 2019 and he is a strong supporter of Boris Johnson due to which he didn't resign from the latter's cabinet. Early polling suggests that Wallace is racing at a good pace to beat his fellow contenders in the race to the reign.

Penny Mordaunt 

UK's Minister of State for Trade Policy, Penny Mordaunt is prominent in the Conservative party and she has previously served as Secretary of State for International Development. She also has served as Wallace's deputy in the Defence department. 

Rishi Sunak 

Indian origin Sunak has become a popular politician in the UK after he was appointed as the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Boris Johnson. Sunak is the son-in-law of Infosys Narayana Murthy and Sunak has been considered for a long time that he will become the next Prime Minister after Johnson as he is holding the second most powerful post in Johnson's cabinet. Though there were allegations of tax evasion and violating the Covid lockdown, Sunak has won an inevitable place in the race to the reign. 

Dominic Raab

The one positive factor to support his candidacy is his post as the Deputy Prime Minister. When Boris Johnson was suffering from Covid, Raab was running the country besides being the UK's Foreign Secretary. He is also serving as the Justice Minister and he also had served as the Secretary of State for Brexit. 

Liz Truss

Being one of the most powerful women in the UK, Truss is currently serving as the British Foreign Secretary and a token that would take her to the lead would be her conduct as a safe choice. Truss has had no chaotic political tenure recently and she has been considered a safe hand and she would take the baton if the Tory leadership wants a safe choice in 10 Downing Street. 

Sajid Javid

Born to a British Pakistani family, Javid is in the race to succeed Boris Johnson and he served in Johnson's cabinet twice. He pioneered the recent revolt against Johnson. Javid had served as UK's Home Secretary under Theresa May, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and as the Secretary for Health and Social Care. Javid was considered a capable MP within the party. Being known for expanding the Covid vaccination programme as the Health Secretary, Javid has made the race to the reign tight for his fellow contenders. 

Besides these aforementioned probables, a handful of leaders including Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Priti Patel, Steve Barclay, Nadhim Zahawi, and Tom Tugendhat are also in the race to become the next British Prime Minister. Though the track of the race is changing, what remains unchanged is the fact that the new occupant of 10 Downing Street would have a difficult job. The incoming premier must work on strengthening the Conservative party ahead of the next general elections. The bitter truth for the Conservatives is that they would be walking into testing times and the only option to fix the tumult future is to not walk on Johnson's legacy.