Suella has declared. The other potential candidates know they cannot compete with her majesty and have given up all hope.

I imagine a lot of them are phoning round to see if they can get more than 3 mps to support them

and there isn't, to me, an obvious advantage in going early unless your profile is very low. in which case you don't have much chance anyway

Suella is in (formally threw hat in ring last night)

Penny is in (has started assembling a staff)

Rishi is in (has a team holed up in a Westminster Hotel)

Liz is in (flying back at speed)

Tom Tugendhat is in (threw hat in earlier, so is now just Tom Tugend)

I’m not counting Suella.

Do you already need the 8 names before you can announce you will put yourself forward?

Can someone please remind me who the real vu fannies were, I don’t want a vu fanny.

heh @ the hatless tom tug-end

Add hunt, Wallace and javid and that might be it? Zahawi might try. 

Brexit hard man Steve Baker has declared as well.

Heh at hatless

A well developed joke with a decent punch line 

10/10 would read again

Because they don’t want to appear too eager as then it looks like they knifed Boris as they were eager to run. 

There needs to be a brief pause to mourn the loss of a great statesman and to allow the slightly taller pygmies to claim it was never their intention to run but they have since been persuaded to do so for the benefit of party and country and as a loyal servant to the party and, above all, as a patriot they have to answer this call. 

Those publicly declaring now are really putting in claims for plum cabinet positions. Declare yourself a candidate now so you can later withdraw for the good of the country and party and get on with governing and then endorse whoever emerges as the likely candidate in exchange for the Cabinet position they desire. 

They haven’t got enough runs. Simple. 

I do hope nobody votes for the Black Lives Matter candidate Steve Gibson.

Steve Baker, I mean.

"Tom Tugendhat is in (threw hat in earlier, so is now just Tom Tugend)"

Heh!