Some of Saturday's front pages have started to come to us.

A quick look at a few of them make for interesting reading.

The Mail raises the question of whether Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak could unite to save the Conservative Party.

While the Financial Times says some MPs - and investors – are "alarmed" at the idea of a Downing Street return for Johnson.

The Mirror continues its push for a general election and the Express points to a three-candidate race between Sunak, Johnson and Penny Mordaunt - the only person to officially declare.

Image source, Daily Mail

Image source, FINANCIAL TIMES

Perhaps the biggest clue that Rishi Sunak is indeed in the running to be the next Tory leader.

One of his supporters, Guildford MP Angela Richardson, says in a tweet that she has signed the former chancellor's "nomination papers".

The number of Tory MPs saying they're supporting Sunak has grown today, and it looks like he's the closest to the minimum 100 backers required.

As we've been telling you, Sunak is yet to make any official announcement.

A minority of young people feel positive about the future of UK politics, a new survey has found.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Radio 1 and BBC Newsbeat, asked a representative sample of 2,719 British 16 to 24-year-olds about their attitudes towards the UK.

Of all those who responded, 17% said they felt positive about the UK's political future, while 20% claimed to be positive about the UK's economy.

It comes as the Tory leadership contest to decide the prime minister gets underway after Liz Truss resigned on Thursday.

Image source, .

Across the whole sample, 17% of the 16 to 24-year-olds polled agreed that political parties in the UK cared about young people.

And 12% said they trusted politicians to tell the truth.

Hannah White, from the Institute for Government, said decision-makers must realise "the voice of young people... is not one voice".

White said losing young voters could risk fuelling "extreme forms of politics".

Like many other former Labour strongholds which made up the 'red wall',Grimsby turned Conservative for the first time in decades at the 2019 general election.

We went to the Lincolnshire town to get a sense of how local people are feeling about the state of politics.

Fed up with the "infighting and incompetence", Graham Thompson, who runs a jewellery stall, says: "I'd vote for Larry [the Downing Street cat] if an election was called."

Holistic stall owner and fortune-teller Suzan Holmes says people voted Conservative because they thought they'd be better off, but many feel "angry" and working people feel like they should have more to show for their hard work.

So what can we expect over the next few days... a recession and the return of Boris Johnson, according to Suzan's prediction.

You can read more on Grimsby's take on the current crisis.

Image source, Jose Calzada

Boris Johnson hasn't been in and around Westminster this week he has actually been taking some time off in the Caribbean.

Out in the Dominican Republic in fact.

The man in the picture with the former prime minister is the manager of the resort he was staying in.

It has been widely reported that Johnson is due to fly back to the UK as interest in a potential return as Tory party leader grows.

Image source, PA Media

This evening the Conservative Home editor has written a pretty damning article on the prospect of Boris Johnson returning as leader.

Paul Goodman talks of a totentanz, external - a German word for the dance of death - in his piece on the Conservative Home website which supports, but is independent of the Tory party.

He says the Tories can "look forward to a prime minister staffing his government with third raters" - noting that swathes of Johnson's 66 ministers resigned in the summer and would likely refuse to serve again.

Goodman adds:

Image source, Getty Images

Tory party members should get a vote on the new leader, according to Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The business secretary - who's backing Johnson in the race - believes there should not be a deal to stop the contest going to a vote of the membership.

He told the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope, external: "I'm always in favour of the members deciding the leadership – I think that’s the right place for it to go.

"And I think the 1922 Committee and the board of the Tory party have done really well to get it to a position where that can be done swiftly. I'm in favour of it going to the membership."

We're keeping an eye as the number of Conservative MPs declaring their support for potential contenders in the leadership election keeps creeping up.

Penny Mordaunt has confirmed she is running.

The other frontrunners, ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak and former PM Boris Johnson, have not confirmed a run but both have secured the backing of some Tory MPs.

Here's our latest tally:

• Rishi Sunak - 83
• Boris Johnson - 42
• Penny Mordaunt - 21

You can see exactly which MP has backed which candidate by clicking here.

Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.

You may see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who've privately told them who they're backing - and other names are being floated as potential contenders.

We'll keep bringing you updates on the numbers as we get them.

Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday - a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.

Over in Wales, leaders of the nationalist party Plaid Cymru have described events at Westminster as a "chaotic circus" and claim it is "proof once and for all that Westminster will never work for Wales".

During Plaid Cymru's party conference in Llandudno leader Adam Price MS and Liz Saville Roberts MP criticised Brexit as "creating a vacuum of accountability" in Westminster.

"People in Wales are looking aghast at the chaos after being lectured for years that we need Westminster to survive," they said.

They also echoed calls from Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats and the Greens for a general election.

Image source, Getty Images

The return of Boris Johnson as prime minister would lead to a "death spiral" for the Tories, ex-Conservative leader Lord William Hague has said.

Lord Hague, speaking to Times Radio, described a new Johnson premiership as "possibly the worst idea I've heard of" during his 46-year party membership.

He claimed the ex-prime minister was unable to run a government correctly and uphold high standards of conduct.

"That would be going round in circles and that could become a death spiral of the Conservative Party," he said.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC News Live Reporter

Cast your mind back to this time last week - Friday 14 October - Kwasi Kwarteng had only just been sacked as chancellor.

Liz Truss was still prime minister and Suella Braverman was still her home secretary.

Now, all three have gone and the only person still in one of the four highest offices of state is James Cleverly as Foreign Secretary.

In between that time we've had Jeremy Hunt do a round of weekend media rounds after swiftly being appointed as chancellor. He then, on Monday, ripped apart pretty much all of the Truss and Kwarteng mini-budget.

On the same day Truss avoided an urgent question in the House of Commons where several opposition MPs questioned whether Truss was cowering under a desk.

By Wednesday Truss faced a tricky PMQs, but worse was to come after it emerged Braverman had broken the ministerial code and quit as Home Secretary. Before being replaced by Grant Shapps, Braverman sent a stinging resignation letter to Truss adding to the turmoil.

A heated evening vote in the Commons with allegations of bullying and manhandling of MPs confused over whether a fracking motion was actually a vote of confidence in Truss's leadership.

Only yesterday did everything come to a head.

Truss called the chairman of the influential Tory 1922 Committee to Downing Street to test the temperature of her backbench MPs. By 13:30 Truss was gone, signalling an end to the shortest prime ministerial reign in history - just 45 days.

What happens in the next week could well prove to be just as eventful.

Image source, Reuters

Another cabinet endorsement for Boris Johnson, this time from the current transport secretary.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan has posted a photo on Twitter with her standing next to a billboard with the former prime minister's face on it.

"I have worked closely with Boris Johnson for many years," she writes.

"He can continue to deliver for the country and already has a mandate. It is time to bring back Boris."

She joins other current Cabinet members Jacob Rees-Mogg, Alok Sharma and Simon Clark as supporters of Johnson. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has also said he was "leaning" towards backing the former PM.

The rest of the world is looking at the UK with "bemusement and sadness", a former top diplomat has said.

Lord Peter Ricketts, a head of diplomatic service and former UK ambassador to France, told the BBC it was a "spectacle" to have three prime ministers in three months.

He said: "We've always been known as a country that had a stable political system - normally you could depend on a prime minister that had a majority in the House of Commons staying the course for five years...

"I think it's bemusement, puzzlement and sadness to see that Britain is consumed again by domestic politics and not playing the active role in the world that so many countries want to see."

Image source, PA Media

We've had the first indication that Boris Johnson is intending to run in the Tory leadership race.

Essex MP Sir James Duddridge says he has been in touch with the former PM, who says he is flying back from his Caribbean holiday to join the contest.

Duddridge tells the BBC's Jonathan Blake: "Boris is coming and he has the momentum and support. He is only election winner we have that has a proven track record in London, on Brexit and in gaining the mandate we have now."

The MP told the PA news agency he had received this WhatsApp message from Johnson: "I'm flying back, Dudders, we are going to do this. I'm up for it."

We still don't have an official confirmation that Johnson is standing in the race.

We're continuing to keep an eye on the number of Conservative MPs declaring their support for potential contenders in the leadership election so far.

Penny Mordaunt currently remains the only one so far to confirm she is running.

Ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak and former PM Boris Johnson have not confirmed a run but both have secured the backing of some Tory MPs.

Here's our latest tally:

• Rishi Sunak - 82
• Boris Johnson - 41
• Penny Mordaunt - 19

You can see exactly which MP has backed which candidate by clicking here.

Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.

You may see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who've privately told them who they're backing - and other names are being floated as potential contenders.

We'll keep bringing you updates on the numbers as we get them.

Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday - a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.

Now that Penny Mordaunt has thrown her hat into the ring in the race to succeed Liz Truss, various MPs have started to come out in her support - heaping praise on her "unifying" abilities.

A prominent backer of hers, Andrea Leadsom, told BBC deputy political editor Vicki Young that she thinks Mordaunt "is the unifying candidate", saying she is "a robust Brexiter, she’s a highly experienced and competent government minister".

Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border, said Mordaunt has the "experience, empathy and compassion to unite our country", while West Bromwich East MP Nicola Richards said Mordaunt will be "the stabilising, calm and collected figure we need".

Keighley MP Robbie Moor said he believes in Mordaunt's ability to "interact with colleagues" and that she is the "unifying character" and is able to go forward with "calmness".

The chairman of Liz Truss's local Conservative association has voiced concern that around 20% of his local membership won't get the chance to vote because they're not on email.

David Hills told BBC Look East there is a lot of unhappiness among members at the way the leadership election is being planned.

Conservative party members will be balloted if two candidates remain after a vote by MPs on Monday - but this will be online only in order to fast-track the process.

Hills also voiced concerns about a "stitch up" by MPs to make sure there is only one candidate and thus ensure members do not get a vote, saying: "That is not democracy."

On the state of the parliamentary party, he said: "Our MPs are not working as a team. They're all supposed to be in a rowing boat rowing the same way but I think some of our MPs are not even in the boat."

Here's a reminder of how the election process works:

Image source, .

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

We now have our first person to declare an intention to run to be the next Conservative Party leader - Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons. Let's quickly recap where we are now.

The race is on

The Conservative Party is now in its second leadership battle of the year. That is because Liz Truss resigned yesterday afternoon. This means there is a vacancy as Tory Party leader and ultimately prime minister.

Who is in the running?

Penny Mordaunt is the only official candidate so far - she says she intends to stand in order to "unite" the Tory Party. She has received some public backing, but currently nowhere near the magic 100 MPs needed by the Monday lunchtime deadline.

There has been plenty of hype around Boris Johnson making a remarkable return with dozens of MPs publicly backing the former prime minister who only left office last month.

Ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Liz Truss during the summer leadership contest, is also a frontrunner again with plenty of supporters backing him. He was the favourite among MPs last time - the membership picked Truss.

Neither Johnson or Sunak have publicly declared an intention to stand.

There are whispers of Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman throwing their name into the contest again, although neither has confirmed or even have any public backing.

Image source, .

Wait, could Boris Johnson actually return?

Absolutely. There is nothing in the rules stopping Boris Johnson from making an return to No 10. He survived a no confidence vote in June but left in the summer after swathes of his government resigned.

Plenty more to come, stay with us!

Image source, Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has another name supporting him - despite the fact he still hasn't publicly announced his intention to run in the leadership race.

In the last few moments Sajid Javid tweeted his backing, saying Sunak "has what it takes to match the challenges" facing the country.

Back in July, the former health secretary pulled out of the last leadership contest having struggled to get the support of the required 20 Tory MP minimum.

Javid then backed Liz Truss to be leader and even called for urgent tax cuts in an attack on Sunak's economic plans, which he said could make the UK into a "middle-income economy".

Now, he says he feels it is "abundantly clear" Sunak should be the next prime minister.

As we've said we're keeping an eye on the number of Conservative MPs who have declared their support for potential contenders in the leadership election so far.

Penny Mordaunt is the only one so far to confirm she is running.

Here's our latest tally:

• Rishi Sunak - 72
• Boris Johnson - 41
• Penny Mordaunt - 17

You can see exactly which MP has backed which candidate by clicking here.

Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.

You may see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who've privately told them who they're backing.

We'll keep bringing you updates on the numbers as we get them.

Other names being floated as potential contenders are former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace earlier ruled himself out of the contest.

Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday - a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.