Boris Johnson
Boris JohnsonReuters

Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for transport and the longest serving Jewish lawmaker in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, may be in the running to be the next prime minister of the UK.

His name is being mentioned as a potential replacement for Johnson, who resigned this week, as the Conservative leadership race to take over the reigns of the country heats up.

Shapps has not yet said whether he will run for party leadership, but he already has several high profile endorsements, including Robert Courts, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport under Shapps, who told the BBC that his boss’s experience and political savvy would mean he would do an “outstanding job” as prime minister.

“I think we need someone, because of the challenges that the country has, because of the fact that we’re still pulling out of the pandemic, because of all the cost of living issues that you’ve quite rightly referred to, I think we need someone who’s got experience, I think we need someone who is able to campaign, I think we need someone who’s able to deliver, so someone like Grant Shapps would be a great choice.”

He added: “I’ve seen him working at close quarters and I know he’d do an outstanding job.”

Johnson resigned after a series of scandals caused more than 50 ministers to resign from his government. Shapps was not among them. But he was rumored to be one of the senior cabinet members who urged Johnson to step down.