British PM Theresa May has announced she is quitting, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power, with most of the frontrunners expected to push for a cleaner break with the European Union.
Below are the 8 Conservative lawmakers who have said they are running and what they have said about Brexit.
(Text from Reuters)
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Former London Mayor, Boris Johnson
The bookmakers' clear favourite, Boris Johnson was the face of the official campaign to leave the European Union. The former London mayor resigned as foreign minister in July last year in protest at May's handling of the exit negotiations.
Johnson said in a campaign video that Britain would leave the EU on October 31 "deal or no deal".
He has also said a second referendum on EU membership would be a "very bad idea" and divisive.
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Britain's environment minister, Michael Gove
Michael Gove, one of the highest-profile Brexit campaigners during the 2016 referendum, scuppered Johnson’s 2016 leadership bid by withdrawing his support at the last moment to run himself.
Seen as one of the most effective members of May's cabinet, Gove, as May's environment minister, backed her Brexit strategy.
On Brexit, Gove said he believed he could unite the party and deliver Brexit.
He said he would set out his Brexit plans in more detail at a formal leadership launch, but told the BBC, "In government and in this job I have got to grips with preparing for a no-deal, it is a possible outcome ... We would be able to get through it but it is ultimately better for all of us if we secure a deal and leave in an orderly way."
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Former leader of House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom
A pro-Brexit campaigner, Andrea Leadsom made it to the last two in the 2016 contest to replace Cameron. She withdrew after a backlash to an interview in which she said being a mother gave her more of a stake in the future of the country, seen by critics as an unfair attack on May, who has no children.
Leadsom quit as Leader of the House of Commons last month, saying she did not believe the government's approach would deliver on the Brexit referendum result.
On Brexit: She told the Sunday Times she would put significant effort into encouraging the EU to come up with a "deal that we can all live with" but also said Britain had to leave by the end of October, with or without a deal.
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Dominic Raab
Dominic Raab quit as May’s Brexit minister last year after just five months in the job, saying her draft exit agreement did not match the promises the Conservative Party made in the 2017 election.
He had held junior ministerial roles since being elected in 2010. Raab, a black belt in karate, campaigned for Brexit.
On Brexit: Raab told the BBC that he plans to seek a "fairer deal" with Brussels, including renegotiating the customs and border plans relating to Northern Ireland. He also said he would not delay Brexit beyond October however, and was prepared to leave without a deal.
Raab said he expected that if Britain left without a deal, it would likely get to keep around 25 billion pounds of its 39 billion pound exit payment, and the government could use that money to support businesses through Brexit.
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Britain Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt replaced Johnson as foreign minister in July after serving six years as health minister. That role made him unpopular with many voters who work in or rely on the state-run, financially stretched National Health Service.
On Brexit: A remain supporter in the 2016 referendum, Hunt now says that while he would prefer to leave the EU with a deal, he believes a no deal exit is better than no Brexit. However, in a Daily Telegraph article he became the most senior figure vying to succeed May to reject a threat to leave with no deal by the end of October, saying lawmakers would block any such move.
"Any prime minister who promised to leave the EU by a specific date – without the time to renegotiate and pass a new deal – would, in effect, be committing to a general election the moment parliament tried to stop it. And trying to deliver no deal through a general election is not a solution; it is political suicide," he wrote.
"A different deal is, therefore, the only solution ... That means negotiations that take us out of the customs union while generously respecting legitimate concerns about the Irish border."
He has not however entirely ruled out a no-deal exit, saying he could consider it as a last resort.
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Britain's International Development Secretary, Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart, a former diplomat who once walked 6,000 miles across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, Stewart was recently promoted to International Development Secretary.
Stewart was first elected to parliament in 2010 and backed remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. He opposes a "no deal" exit and has been a vocal advocate of May's deal with Brussels.
On Brexit: He told Sky News that he favoured a "pragmatic, moderate Brexit".
He said he would not seek to change May's withdrawal agreement which has been rejected by parliament three times and said anyone who said they could do so by October was "deluding themselves or deluding the country".
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Britain's Home Secretary Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid, a former banker and a champion of free markets, has served a number of cabinet roles and scores consistently well in polls of party members. A second-generation immigrant of Pakistani heritage, he has a portrait of late Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher on his office wall.
On Brexit: Javid voted "Remain" in the 2016 referendum but was previously considered a eurosceptic.
Javid wants to reshape the existing Brexit deal and get it through parliament, but would be prepared to leave without a deal if that proves impossible.
"We should leave on October 31. And if we cannot get a deal we should, with great regret, leave without one, having done everything we can to minimise disruption,' he wrote in the Daily Mail.
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Deputy Chairman of British Conservative Party, James Cleverly
James Cleverly was appointed a junior Brexit minister in May, having previously been deputy chair of the Conservative Party. He had a career in publishing before being elected to parliament in 2015.
On Brexit: He told BBC Radio: "My job in government is to make sure that we can leave with no deal. That is still one of the ultimate destinations of this process. It is not my preferred destination."
"What it would be is an added level of uncertainty and difficulty at a time when we could well do without that. (But) we absolutely can deliver a Brexit with no deal."