In a contest to succeed Theresa May, stars are aligning for Boris Johnson

Not only is Mr. Johnson a firm proponent of Brexit - albeit one who is instinctively more flexible than Mrs. May

Only one person, the joke doing the rounds in Parliament goes, can stop the dishevelled, blond-haired, crowd-pleasing former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, from becoming the country’s next prime minister.

That is Mr. Johnson himself.

One of Britain’s most recognisable, and now most divisive politicians, Mr. Johnson has a history of verbal gaffes, a poor record as a minister and many enemies in Parliament, not to mention among the voters who reject Brexit, which he helped persuade Britons to embrace in a 2016 referendum.

But his charisma, flair for publicity and record of winning two elections as mayor of London make him the runaway