Theresa May’s decision to stand down as the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party—and, consequently, prime minister—has sparked a leadership battle months in the making. As many as 11 Conservatives have announced their candidacy, and more can be expected to enter the race once it formally begins June 10.
Whoever succeeds May will carry the burden of steering Britain through its seemingly intractable impasse over how, or even if, the country should leave the European Union. This person will have until October 31, the next Brexit deadline, to find a solution that has eluded the country since it voted in 2016 to leave the bloc. The next prime minister will undoubtedly face the same parliamentary deadlock and division as did May.
Before that challenge, though, they will need to win over their Tory colleagues in Parliament, as well as the party membership. In the first phase of the leadership contest, candidates will face the 313 Conservative Members of Parliament, who will whittle the list of contenders down to two. The finalists will then face each other in a run-off decided via postal ballot by the party’s estimated 124,000 dues-paying members. May will stay on as prime minister until a winner is declared, possibly by late July.
Read: Theresa May’s final humiliation
This cheat sheet will be updated as the Tory leadership contest progresses. Here are the candidates:
BORIS JOHNSON
Who is he?
Britain’s gaffe-prone foreign secretary until his resignation last year in protest of May’s Brexit deal. Before that, he was the mayor of London.
Why does he want to run?
He’s ambitious. The 54-year-old, who is said to have aspired to be “world king” as a child, was expected to seek the position in 2016. (May eventually won that race.) But he bowed out when Michael Gove, one of his key allies who is Britain’s environmental secretary, withdrew support so he could launch his own—ultimately unsuccessful—leadership bid instead. Now, Johnson fancies himself the party’s best hope to deliver Brexit by the end of October—with or without a deal with the EU. He called the Conservative Party’s crushing defeat at the European Parliament elections a “final warning” to deliver on Brexit or face being “fired” from running the country.
Who supports him?
More than two dozen Conservative MPs, including arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and his own brother Jo Johnson. Still, not everyone is ready for Boris. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve pledged to leave the party if Johnson become leader, citing, among other reasons, the former foreign secretary’s “embarassing” comments comparing Muslim women who wear full-face veils to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers.”
How did he vote in the 2016 referendum?
Leave: He was one of the most prominent figureheads of the campaign. But he also faces allegations of misconduct over claims he made during the referendum that Britain sends £350 million ($470 million) to Brussels as a member of the EU each week (this figure has since been debunked).
What else do we know?
President Trump considers Johnson, who was born in New York City, “a friend of mine.”
DOMINIC RAAB
Who is he?
The former Brexit Secretary (and the second to resign from his post in protest of May’s Brexit deal).
Why does he want to run?
Raab considers himself the “optimism and change” candidate who will fight for a “fairer” Britain. On Brexit, he has pledged to go back to Brussels and renegotiate May’s Brexit deal (an option the EU has repeatedly rejected). Barring that, the 45-year-old said he would take Britain out of the EU without a deal at the end of October—an outcome few Conservative MPs would support, but one Raab said would be “very difficult” to stop.
Who supports him?
An estimated 22 backers, including David Davis, his predecessor as Brexit secretary.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave.
What else do we know?
His favorite lunch: A chicken caesar and bacon baguette, a superfruit pot, and a vitamin volcano smoothie.
MICHAEL GOVE
Who is he?
Britain’s environmental secretary. Before that, he served as justice secretary, chief whip, and education secretary.
Why does he want to run?
So he can, as he has put it, bring his fractured party, and the country, back together. Part of his pitch includes delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum, where approximately 52 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU, though the 51-year-old crucially hasn’t advocated for leaving the bloc without a deal. He has also pledged to grant free British citizenship to the 3 million EU nationals who need to apply for a new immigration status to continue living in the U.K. after Brexit.
[Read: Brexit has triggered Britain’s most ambitious migration exercise ever]
Who supports him?
As many as 25 MPs, including Alberto Costa, a leading champion of EU citizens' rights.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave: He was one of the first politicians to publicly back Brexit. At the time, he called it “the most difficult decision of my political life.”
What else do we know?
It took the former journalist seven tries to pass his driving test, according to his partner and Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine. She also revealed that he has a fondness for corduroy, a passion for opera, and an “entirely irrational dislike of houseplants.”
JEREMY HUNT
Who is he?
Britain’s foreign secretary. Before that, he served as health secretary and culture secretary.
Why does he want to run?
Hunt is a “born again Brexiteer.” But unlike rivals in the race, the 52-year-old hasn’t gone as far as to advocate leaving the bloc without a deal. Such an outcome, he argued, would be “political suicide” that could spell the end of the Conservative Party. Still, he thinks the option should remain on the table.
Who supports him?
At least 28 Conservative lawmakers have pledged their support, citing Hunt’s Brexit stance and his business background. Others have withdrawn their support over his “political suicide” comments.
How did he vote in the 2016 referendum?
Remain.
What else do we know?
He is fluent in Japanese.
SAJID JAVID
Who is he?
Britain’s home secretary. Before that, he served as local government secretary, business secretary, and culture secretary.
Why does he want to run?
To “first and foremost” deliver Brexit—though Javid backed remain in the 2016 vote. The home secretary, who made the contentious decision to strip citizenship from British nationals who went to join the Islamic State, has also called for strengthening the country’s police force by hiring an additional 20,000 officers.
Who supports him?
He is estimated to have a dozen supporters on the Conservative bench.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Remain.
What else do we know?
The former investment banker’s friends call him “The Saj.”
ANDREA LEADSOM
Who is she?
The former leader of the House of Commons and the 36th cabinet minister to resign over May’s Brexit deal. Before that, she served as environmental secretary.
Why does she want to run?
So she can implement her three-point plan to deliver Brexit (no details yet on what that entails).
Leadsom withdrew from the Tory leadership contest in 2016 and paved the way for May’s victory. This time, she says, she will be the “decisive and compassionate” leader who can reunite Britain. Like many of her competitors, the 56-year-old thinks that leaving the EU without a deal should be kept on the table.
Who supports her?
One lawmaker so far.
How did she vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave: Leadsome was one of the most visible Brexit advocates during the referendum campaign.
What else do we know?
In 2016, after his own withdrawal, Johnson backed Leadsom in the leadership race.
ESTHER MCVEY
Who is she?
The former work and pensions secretary who also resigned over May’s Brexit deal.
Why does she want to run?
To deliver a no-deal Brexit—unlike virtually every other candidate. Beyond Brexit, the 51-year-old has called for a multi-billion pound cut to Britain’s international aid budget in favor of focusing on domestic priorities such as policing and education.
Who supports her?
So far, half a dozen MPs.
How did she vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave.
What else do we know?
Before she was an MP, she was a TV presenter.
MATT HANCOCK
Who is he?
Britain’s health secretary. Before that, he served as culture secretary.
Why does he want to run?
He says he’s a moderate, pro-business candidate who would rebuild the government’s relations with corporate Britain and avoid a no-deal departure from the EU. In a not-so-subtle dig at Johnson, Hancock told the Financial Times that “To the people who say fuck business, I say fuck fuck business.” At the age of 40, he is the youngest contender to succeed May.
Who supports him?
He has nine supporters among his Conservative colleagues.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Remain.
What else do we know?
He has his own smartphone app. Oh, and he loves stroopwafels.
RORY STEWART
Who is he?
Britain’s international development secretary.
Why does he want to run?
To unite the country around a compromise Brexit agreement. His solution: to set up a 500-member citizens’ assembly that would have the task of reaching a consensus. If elected, the 46-year-old army veteran, who previously served as a deputy governor in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, has also pledged to double Britain’s foreign spending to focus on climate change.
Who supports him?
Two Conservative MPs, including Winston Churchill’s grandson, Nicholas Soames.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Remain.
What else do we know?
He can speak Dari, which he learned while spending three years trekking 6,000 miles across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
[Read: The end of the cult of sympathy for Theresa May]
KIT MALTHOUSE
Who is he?
The minister of state for housing.
Why does he want to run?
Because he is, in his words, a “new face with fresh new ideas.” In his bid to end the Brexit paralysis, the 52-year-old, who is a rising star of the party, said he will revive his eponymous Malthouse compromise—a plan struck by Conservatives on both sides of the Brexit divide to extend the transition period to give Britain more time to prepare for a “managed no-deal” exit. The plan proved unworkable to Brussels and unpopular to British MPs, though Malthouse insists that “with some adjustments, my plan still holds.”
Who supports him?
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave.
What else do we know?
Before becoming an MP, Malthouse was a London deputy mayor under Johnson.
JAMES CLEVERLY
Who is he?
The Brexit minister. Before that, he was the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party.
Why does he want to run?
To deliver Brexit “with some form of a deal,” according to an open letter to his constituents. The 49-year-old added that while a no-deal exit is not his preferred choice, “I am ready to lead through what may be difficult and unchartered waters.” He has also called on the EU to “recognize the need for flexibility.”
Who supports him?
No one yet.
How did he vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum?
Leave.
What else do we know?
In a game of “snog, marry, avoid,” the British version of the famous American game, during a 2015 radio interview, Cleverly famously said he would snog Theresa May.
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