Now that Boris Johnson has resigned as UK Prime Minister, there is a dramatic contest underway in the Conservative Party over who should replace him. Whoever wins will be handed the keys to 10 Downing Street.
As of today, the full list of declared candidates includes Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Nadhim Zahawi, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Suella Braverman, and Rehman Christi. For the moment, the task of these individuals is to persuade as many Conservative MPs as possible to give public backing to their bids for the premiership. The 1922 Committee, responsible for drafting the rules, has revealed that 20 nominations from fellow Tory MPs is enough for a candidate to progress to the next round. These stages will continue until the list is whittled down to just two. After this point, the question as to which of the two is more qualified will be put to ordinary members of the Conservative Party up and down the country. Last time, Boris Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt when it came to this final round.
The ConHome website has already published a useful survey revealing how the declared candidates poll among the Tory grassroots. Plenty can change and, of course, many will not even make it to the final hurdle. For the time being, however, Penny Mordaunt, Kemi Badenoch, and Rishi Sunak lead the popularity contest among members. Some on the list, including Priti Patel, have decided not to stand at all.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, has said he intends for a new Prime Minister to be announced by September 5th. By 6:00 p.m. this evening, we will know which candidates have made it into the next round of the contest and which of them have been eliminated.
