Eight Conservatives will fight it out to succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and British prime minister after winning enough nominations from their colleagues to go through to the first round of voting on Wednesday (Jul 13).

ssc168 royal Even you're great, who likes to play. And you're looking to find out how to crack or spin slots at any time.

Only two hopefuls failed to secure the 20 necessary nominations, leaving a wide field of candidates seeking to win the backing of the party with promises of tax cuts, honesty and serious government - a contrast to Johnson who was forced to announce he would resign after a series of scandals.

Former finance minister Rishi Sunak is the bookmakers' favourite, and among those he will be taking on are his successor Nadhim Zahawi and foreign minister Liz Truss in what is becoming an increasingly bitter and divisive contest.

The next British leader faces a daunting in-tray while support for the Conservatives is also falling, polls show.

Britain's economy is facing rocketing inflation, high debt, and low growth as people grapple with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades. All of this is set against a backdrop of an energy crunch exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has sent fuel prices soaring.

As the contest intensifies, rival campaigns stepped up private criticism of each other and pointed to either financial or other questions hanging over their opponents.