A FORMER Henley MP is favourite to become Britain's next prime minister, after Theresa May announced that she would be stepping down this morning.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire Conservatives on Theresa May resignation

Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary and mayor of London, is the clear front runner in the race to succeed Mrs May. 

READ AGAIN: Theresa May to resign as prime minister

According to the site Oddschecker, which lists all the bookmakers' odds on the next British leader, Mr Johnson leads fellow Brexiters Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, and Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary.

Mr Johnson, who - like Mrs May, went to Oxford University - served as Henley's representative between 2001 and 2008. 

He looks set to enter the leadership contest, scheduled to begin in the week commencing June 10, which will see Conservative MPs whittle down a likely crowded field to a final two.

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The party membership - numbering around 120,000 and thought to be strongly pro-Brexit - will then vote to decide the next prime minister. 

Mr Johnson eventually decided against standing in the previous leadership election, after Mr Gove withdrew his support at the last minute and stood himself.

None of Oxfordshire's four current Tory MPs are expected to stand this time. 

The Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is the fourth favourite; followed by Andrea Leadsom, who resigned as Leader of the House of Commons last night; Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary; Penny Mordaunt, the Defence Secretary; and Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, according to the website. 

Countless other names, including Matt Hancock, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Liz Truss have also been mentioned by pundits.