GETTY Boris Johnson has offered Theresa May a top Cabinet position

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The former London Mayor, who is the clear frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister, was ready to make his biggest rival chancellor or foreign secretary along with being effectively his deputy if he wins the race. Tory MPs backing Mr Johnson revealed that the first steps in shaping the Cabinet tasked with taking the UK out of the EU were already under way.

The moves emerged as party officials revealed a fast-track timetable for the Tory leadership contest, with the new Prime Minister set to be in office by September 2. The accelerated contest, with nominations set to close tomorrow, will enhance the charismatic Brexiteer’s chances of victory by giving outsiders little time to organise rival campaigns. Mr Johnson’s hopes were also boosted by a poll showing that 80% of Daily Express readers are convinced he will be the country’s next premier. Callers in the telephone survey overwhelming voted “yes” to the question in Saturday’s newspaper: “Would Boris Johnson make a good Prime Minister?” Mr Johnson became the favourite to be David Cameron’s successor after spearheading the Vote Leave campaign that triumphed in last week’s historic referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU.

GETTY Boris Johnson has already won the support of 80 per cent of Express readers

Sources in the Johnson camp said current Chancellor George Osborne had been offered the job of Home Secretary by the former London mayor to secure his support. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who co-chaired Vote Leave and masterminded the referendum victory, will also take a senior Cabinet post.

The country is crying out for leadership Tory MP Andrew Bridgen

Mr Johnson had asked Mr Osborne to approach Mrs May with the offer of a key job, an MP backing the leadership bid said. “If we get Theresa on board, we can turn it into a coronation rather than a drawn out contest and show we are in control,” the MP said. Another said: “The markets and the country demand we resolve this sooner rather than later. We need leadership and we need stability.

Mrs May backed the unsuccessful Remain campaign in the referendum but admitted she was a reluctant supporter of EU membership with grave concerns about the levels of EU migration. The Home Secretary was yesterday still sounding out colleagues about the possibility of a challenge. She was being pressed to become a contender by allies of David Cameron who want revenge on Mr Johnson. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, a supporter of Mr Johnson, yesterday called for a rapid contest. He said: “I would like to see a quick transition. We do not want a three-month leadership contest.

Boris Johnson's funniest pictures Sun, July 17, 2016 Boris Johnson in pictures Play slideshow Getty•Reuters 1 of 39 Boris Johnson's funniest pictures

“We need a leader who can unite the party and the country - Boris can do that. “The country is crying out for leadership. “We need to come together and show we can offer it, in contrast to the mayhem that is happening in the Labour Party.” International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “I think the two clear front-runners are obviously going to be Boris Johnson and Theresa May. “I would like to see them unite and bring party together without the need for a leadership contest.” Mr Johnson yesterday signalled his desire to heal the divisions caused by the referendum in both the Conservative Party and the country. “We must reach out, we must heal, we must build bridges - because it is clear that some have feelings of dismay, and of loss, and confusion,” he wrote in a newspaper article. “I believe that this climate of apprehension is understandable, given what people were told during the campaign, but based on a profound misunderstanding about what has really taken place.

GETTY The former London mayor hopes to gain Theresa May's support with the offer

“At home and abroad, the negative consequences are being wildly overdone and the upside is being ignored.” Senior Tory MPs on the executives of the party’s powerful 1922 Committee of backbenchers yesterday declared the new leader and prime minister will in place by September 2. Nominations for the contest will open tomorrow and close on Thursday. At an emergency meeting in Westminster, it agreed unanimously that the contest should be run under the same rules as in 2005, when Mr Cameron was chosen. Under the rules, MPs pick two candidates to put to the wider membership. The speedy process will be a huge boost to Mr Johnson by reducing the time that a surprise outsider could emerge. It is set to be signed of today and backed by a full meeting of the backbench committee tomorrow. Mr Cameron, announcing his departure in the immediate wake of his defeat in the EU referendum, had said he wanted his successor in place by the time of the Conservative Party conference, which starts on October 2. But 1922 chairman Graham Brady indicated that the process could be completed significantly more quickly.

GETTY MP Andrew Bridgen has called for a quick contest