Each weekend for the duration of this leadershop contest I'll be charting who's up and who's fortunes are on the decline in the Tory Party's equivalent of the Game of Thrones...

 

  1. - Boris Johnson - Boosted by the ridiculous court case he now faces. 
  2. +2 Michael Gove - Eye-catching announcement on EU citizens rights, and the addition of some new supporters. Gaining ground.
  3. - Dominic Raab - Solid week, solid interviews. Slight issue over whether he describes himself as a feminist. Launched campaign website.
  4. +1 Sajid Javid - Picked up a few supporters but needs to make more of his background and upbringing. 
  5. -3 Jeremy Hunt - Not the best of weeks as he stand accused of flip-slopping on no deal and Brexit.
  6. Rory Stewart - A fantastic week for Rory, but given he has only two declared supporters it's difficult to see how he can make the final rounds. Suffers from being ever Guardian reader's favourite Tory.
  7. +2 Matt Hancock - Profile has rise hugely and he's picking up supporters, especially from ministers who've worked with him. But his interviews needs to be sharpened up.
  8. - Andrea Leadsom - A quiet week. Will be interesting to see how she ramps up her campaign. 
  9. +1 Esther McVey - Ubiquitous on TV and radio, she's saying some interesting and different things, although her support for protesters outside a Birmingham school won't gain her many votes in Parliament.
  10. -3 Penny Mordaunt - Not announced so far, and she needs to get on with it. Will her online consultation on Tuesday be her launch?
  11. - James Cleverly - James's task will be to get the kind of profile Rory Stewart has achieved and develop a USP among the underdog candidates.
  12. NEW Kit Malthouse - Surprise entrant to the contest, his clear aim is to shake it up. His initial challenge, like several others, will be to get into the second round.
  13. +2 Priti Patel - I think she's now much more likely to run, rather than herself to Boris Johnson. Was seen filming a video this week. 
  14. -2 Steve Baker - Clearly reluctant to run, but he's clearly wondering if he can trust any of his ERG colleagues. If he becomes the 13th candidate, we have  Baker's Dozen!
  15. -1 Mark Harper - Launched his campaign on Friday as the unavowed "Underdog" candidate. He will struggle for attention, and is not naturally a controversialist, but he has a natural advantage over others in that all his parliamentary colleagues like him.
  16. -3 Sir Graham Brady - If he's going to run, he needs to announce very soon. Guaranteed a senior ministerial post under any new leader whether he runs for leader or not.
  17. NEW Jesse Norman - Sent out a series of teasing tweets, but no further evidence he's throwing his hat into the ring.
  18. NEW Philip Hammond - Hinted on the Today Programme on Friday he may run if he doesn't hear what he wants to hear from any of the candidates.

Sam Gyimah

I'll be updating this list every weekend, and sometimes more regularly than that.