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STORY: Who will replace Liz Truss as Britain's prime minister?

"I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. "

After just 44 days in office, the shortest tenure in British history, Truss announced her resignation on Thursday (October 20), firing off the starting gun for yet another leadership race.

''We've agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.''

Rishi Sunak, who was runner-up against Truss over the summer, is the firm favourite.

The former finance minister sounded an early warning about Truss's economic agenda.

"Rising inflation is the enemy that makes everyone poorer and puts at risk your homes and your savings. "

He first gained popularity steering Britain through the COVID pandemic, dropping conservative instincts for a small state, and borrowing massively to support workers and businesses.

He was the preferred candidate amongst Conservative MPs in the summer leadership race but lost out in the membership vote.

Many of them saw him as responsible for Boris Johnson's downfall which brings us to the next potential candidate.

"And it's perfectly true. It's perfectly true that I leave not at the time of my choosing."

Johnson was kicked out of office in July following a string of scandals, and still faces an investigation for allegedly lying in parliament about parties held during lockdown.

However, the face of Brexit was once seen by many as a vote winner.

In the 2019 general election he won votes in parts of the country that had never backed the Conservatives before.

Johnson was on holiday in the Caribbean when Truss announced she was quitting, but British media reports on Thursday suggested he was flying back.

"I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back," one Conservative lawmaker, James Duddridge, said on Twitter, adding "#bringbackboris".

Seemingly loved and loathed in equal measure, some Conservative MPs may quit if he wins.

The third candidate likely to enter the race is Penny Mourdant.

A former defense secretary, she only just missed reaching the final two in the summer leadership race.

Mourdant, like Johnson and Sunak, was a passionate supporter of leaving the European Union, and is seen by some as having broad appeal.

She won plaudits for her performance in parliament on Monday (October 17), when she defended the government even as it reversed most of its policies.

"The prime minister is not under a desk..."

Jeremy Hunt, the current finance minister, has ruled himself out.

To enter the contest, a candidate needs the votes of 100 MPs by Monday.