THERE never seems to be unanimous agreement among Dorset’s Conservative MPs and the subject of who should be the next Prime Minister is no different.

At present 11 candidates have put themselves forward to replace Boris Johnson as the leader of the Conservative Party.

Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood is backing Nadhim Zahawi, while Sir Robert Syms, who represents Poole, is supporting Tom Tugendhat.

Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset believes former chancellor Rishi Sunak should be the new leader and South Dorset MP Richard Drax has confirmed he wants Suella Braverman to be the next Prime Minister.

Sir Christopher Chope, Christchurch, Conor Burns, Bournemouth West, and Michael Tomlinson, Mid Dorset and North Dorset, have not confirmed who they are backing yet.

Explaining why he is supporting Mr Tugendhat, Sir Robert told the Daily Echo: “He’s a friend of mine. He used to live in Poole when he was stationed at Hamworthy.

“He is a very decent guy. He has a very decent record and although he hasn’t got experience in Government, he has a lot in life. I believe he would be a very good choice as the new leader.”

Sir Robert said some of the MPs who have put themselves forward as candidates will fail to get enough nominations to formally stand while the numbers will soon be whittled down through the ballot process.

Fellow backbencher Sir Christopher said he did not see any of the candidates being capable of eclipsing the support Mr Johnson had.

Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope said he had not declared his support for a candidate yet.

“I think what it what it shows is that there is no standout obvious successor and that has always been the issue,” he said.

Sir Christopher went to Downing Street to support Mr Johnson when he announced his resignation on Thursday.

Discussing the events of the past week, Sir Christopher said: “I frankly believe that some of my parliamentary colleagues have behaved appalling. There has been a lack of respect for the office of Prime Minister and a lack of respect for the individual concerns.

“I was the only person in the House of Commons who had a good word to say, and this was after it was confirmed he was resigning.

“I think we will rue the day because of the way in which it happened. To force him out like this is going to create a lot of repercussions for the party.

“We are about to elect what will be the ninth leader of the Conservative Party since I have been in the House of Commons. Obviously I was there when Margaret Thatcher resigned and I think what we have is a different situation.

“Now we have a real issue because there are so many people who are obsessed with their own personality and putting themselves first rather than the country. I am pretty disillusioned about the whole thing.”

On Twitter, Mr Ellwood said: “We’re entering a new era of insecurity. State on state aggression is back.

“It’s time we reverse recent cuts in our sea, land & air defences, including 10,000 troops.

“Britain needs a leader committed to increasing defence spend to 2.5 per cent by 2025.

“That’s why I’m supporting Nadhim Zahawi.”

Sharing his support for Mr Sunak on social media, Mr Hoare said: “The Tory Party has to be the party of sound finances, quality public services and realistic levels of taxation that fund those services while ensuring a dynamic, developing economy.

“Rishi Sunak has this in his DNA. It’s why I’m backing Rishi Sunak to be our next PM.”

West Dorset MP Chris Loder has not confirmed who he is backing yet.

Across the county border, New Forest West MP Sir Desmond Swayne is supporting attorney general Ms Braverman.