THE contest to replace Theresa May as Britain’s next leader formally began Monday, with candidates lining up to define themselves against the “bluff and bluster” of front-runner Boris Johnson.

Eleven Conservative MPs are vying to succeed May, who quit as the party’s leader Friday over her failure to take Britain out of the European Union on time.

She remains premier until her replacement is chosen, probably in late July, and they will automatically enter Downing Street.

The race is dominated by Britain’s looming EU exit Oct. 31, with leading Brexiteer Johnson among those talking tough on the need to renegotiate the divorce terms or leave with no deal.

The bombastic former London mayor has been keeping a low public profile but is campaigning hard behind the scenes, and his rivals tacitly acknowledged he is the one to beat. “A serious moment calls for a serious leader,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt declared at his campaign launch, a thinly veiled jab at his jocular predecessor.  (SD-Agencies)