Next UK Conservative Party Leader Betting Preview
British politics at the moment is pretty much in uncharted territory at the moment with the whole mess of Brexit fully dominating both UK and European politics at the moment. It is safe to say the current UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May has had a horrific time at the helm with just about everything going wrong for her ever since her disaster in the 2017 General Election when she out of the blue called a snap election thinking she would increase her Parliamentary Majority, only to lose that and have to rely on a confidence and supply deal with the Northern Ireland DUP Party, after what many agree was a very lacklustre and flat election campaign. Fast-forward to now, and she has been pulled from pillar to post by both her own party and the opposition. Many people have been surprised that Mrs May has even lasted this long as Prime Minister with her own MP’s calling a Vote of No Confidence in her back in December. No one could argue she has shown true grit to get this far, and it certainly isn’t an easy job trying to get any Brexit deal through, never mind one many of her own MP’s don’t like, her DUP partners won’t support and the Labour Party have consistently voted against.
Her last attempt to get her Brexit deal through parliament came with the added agreement that once this was voted through the House of Commons she would stand down as Prime Minister, and Tory Party leader. This didn’t happen as you are probably aware, but it does look now that once the withdrawal agreement gets passed in whatever form, or even a long extension we are very close to the end of Theresa May’s tenure.
So now could be a great time to look at the betting for the next Conservative Leader and see if there is much value in all the leading runners and riders
As most people would imagine Boris Johnson is the current bookmakers favourite for the role and is currently best priced with odds of 9/2 with Bet365. Boris has always been one of the leading front-runners and is extremely popular with both grassroots Conservative Party members and a lot of the voting public. Though the popularity doesn’t run as deep with his parliamentary colleagues, so he may not be the automatic shoe in many expect.
Currently, the next in the running is Michael Gove, who is a dividing character to say the least sometimes. The best odds on Gove at the moment are 6/1 with Coral bookies, although we think this is too short at the moment, especially as he has sided very closely to Mrs May recently, and was reportedly one of the key people who persuaded Theresa May to look at ‘softer’ Brexit options and talking to Labour. This may well be remembered by the party members and count against him in any vote.
Next in the running comes an interesting option and may be someone that would interest some in the betting, although we actually think he might be one of the ‘maybe next time’ options, Dominic Raab. Currently, commanding best odds of 8/1 with Unibet and Betfred, Raab certainly is a rising stock after coming to the ranks to become Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, where he impressed many before ultimately feeling he couldn’t back the route Mrs May was forcing Brexit.
The next 2 in the running are often spoken about as potential leaders with both being members of the current cabinet, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Hunt is a steady 8/1 across the board whilst Javid is a juicy 14/1 with Betfred. Javid could be the better betting value here as he’s taken to the role Home Secretary in his stride, is a likeable speaker and hasn’t fully nailed his flag to any Brexit masts.
As in all betting though it isn’t easy, after all if it was we’d all be millionaires so it is also worth looking at a few outsiders as there is some potential betting value, especially if one of the outsiders makes it to the final 2, and you can lay off your bet for profit.
Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom actually went head-to-head for a short while against Mrs May in the last leadership contest and although that campaign was an ultimate failure, she maybe tempted to try again with her views on Brexit likely to be popular with leavers in the party and the 25/1 that Unibet are offering could be interesting if you’re placing any bets.
We couldn’t write this betting preview without adding Jacob Rees-Mogg to the mix. A prominent Brexiter Rees-Mogg is often viewed as the “main man” on the Tory backbenches when it comes to Brexit, and many other “right of centre” policies, although he maybe viewed as too right leaning to gain much substantive support. Still the 40/1 with Bet365 and William Hill may interest some punters.
Another interesting person we’d be interested in placing a small bet on is current Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, James Cleverly. He is currently 50/1 with both Unibet and 888sport and may offer a fair bit of betting value as he’s looked at as a rising star in the party and one of their biggest media assets when he is wheeled out for the many interviews he does.
The last person we’ve picked out seems to have gone quietly under the radar in recent months and at one point in June 2018 was as short as 6/1 to be the next leader, is Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. You can currently get 100/1 with Bet365 for Williamson, and we think that is huge odds on someone viewed as doing a good job in Defence. We would certainly expect his betting odds to shorten, especially if he puts himself in the running.
We have written this Next UK Conservative Party Leader Betting Preview on the 8th April 2019 so the odds are correct for now and will now doubt change, whenever the leadership campaign starts. If you are looking at betting on this though it is always important to get the best betting value possible and one of the ways is to take advantage of the bookies online betting offers and free bets like the £30 Betfred free bet. So have a look at all the best online bookies and use some free bets to bet on the next Conservative Leader betting market.