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Who used Tory conference to position themselves in case Theresa May goes?

As the PM's future hangs in the balance, we take a look at the fresh faces and cabinet veterans who appear to want the top job.

By Aubrey Allegretti, Political Reporter

Thursday 5 October 2017 18:17, UK

Downing Street
Image: Questions are swirling over the next inhabitant of Number 10
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Theresa May's grip on her party has weakened following a disastrous conference speech - but who used Manchester to position themselves as a potential replacement?

Despite Downing Street insisting the Prime Minister will stay on, MP and former minister Ed Vaizey became the first to break cover and call for her to go.

He claimed "quite a few" colleagues backed him and that it was "increasingly difficult to see a way forward" for Mrs May.

Comedian Simon Brodkin confronts Theresa May during her keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference
Image: It may not have been her fault, but Theresa May's speech was a disaster

While the party struggled with a flat atmosphere and internal warring over Boris Johnson, other MPs used the event to put their names forward.

Here are the fresh faces and parliamentary veterans who could have been on manoeuvres in Manchester:

:: Tom Tugendhat

Tom Tugendhat MP speaks at the launch of a new bipartisan report titled The Cost of Doing Nothing, co-authored by the late Jo Cox MP, at the Policy Exchange in Westminster, London.

The foreign affairs committee chair became an MP in 2015, but is already being touted by some as a future leader.

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When asked at conference if he wanted the job, Mr Tugendhat told ITV it would be "a huge privilege to serve my country in any way I possibly could".

Pressed if that meant yes, the Tonbridge and Mailing MP admitted: "Of course. I bought a ticket so why wouldn't I want to win the lottery?"

:: Amber Rudd

Amber Rudd

The Home Secretary is publicly a staunch ally of Mrs May, telling reporters at BBC Oxford on Thursday: "She has my full support."

But she would be well placed to succeed the PM if she wanted to, and recently sparked rumours of a coup after it emerged she had hired election strategist Sir Lynton Crosby.

Although it was to shore up support in her Kent constituency - where she clung on with only a 300 vote majority in June - Crosby is no stranger to running much bigger, national campaigns.

:: James Cleverly

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 09: James Cleverly attends the UK film premiere for 'Margin Call' at the Vue cinema Leicester Square on January 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Commons junior James Cleverly also declared just before conference that he some day wanted to lead the country.

An ally of Boris Johnson, the Braintree MP told PoliticsHome he would "love to be Prime Minister" and that if someone asked him he would "bite their hand off".

But he said now was the time for loyalty, and anyone "obsessing" over trying to succeed Mrs May should be "rightly punished".

:: Andrea Leadsom

Andrea Leadsom arrives at Downing Street amid a Cabinet reshuffle

Mrs May's rival in the 2016 Tory leadership election has hinted she could take a shot at the top job again.

The Leader of the House of Commons said "anything can happen" when asked by Business Insider if she could run for a second time.

"I am not speculating about what happens in the future," Ms Leadsom said.

:: Priti Patel

International Development Secretary Priti Patel arriving at 10 Downing Street in London for a Cabinet meeting.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel is another serving minister tipped to run in a leadership contest.

She made a brief joke that "some of our most successful leaders have been the smallest", standing on a platform to boost her height behind the podium at Tory conference.

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