Boris Johnson’s support inside the party has crumbled as a result of Partygate and other scandals, and Tory MPs have been licking their lips at the prospect of entering No 10 as Prime Minister for months.
Candidates for his replacement can be found on all sides of the party, from the libertarian right to the One Nation Tory center.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and one of her predecessors in the office, Jeremy Hunt, are among the front-runners, both of whom have made no secret of their desire to take the top job.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who, like Truss, is popular among grassroots Conservatives due to his firm stance on the Ukraine war, is poised to enter a leadership race.
People like Tom Tugendhat, a former British Army officer and chairman of the foreign affairs committee, and Mark Harper, the former chief whip turned critic of the PM’s handling of the Covid epidemic, could be among the outsiders.
But it could be part of the issue for Conservative MPs voting in tonight’s no-confidence vote: who is the alternative to Boris Johnson who can bring the party together?
After backbench boss Graham Brady stated this morning that at least 54 MPs have requested a full ballot, one will be held between 6pm and 8pm, the PM sounded defiant.
With the results announced so soon after, it’s possible that Mr Johnson’s term as Prime Minister may come to an end less than three years after he gained a spectacular 80-seat Commons majority.
In theory, if 50% of MPs back him, he is secure for a year – though some insurgents are concerned that they have moved too soon ahead of important by-elections later this month.
Cabinet members rallied around him right once, with Ms Truss, Mr Wallace, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak all endorsing him.