The vote to determine the successor will take place over the summer, in several stages, and will be open only to members of the Conservative Party.
The list of candidates vying to become the new leader of the Conservative Party – and ultimately the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – is now fixed. On Tuesday July 12, the Conservative Party committee, responsible for organizing this election following the announcement of the resignation of Boris Johnson on July 7 against the backdrop of repeated scandals, announced that eight people had collected at least twenty sponsorships of parliamentarians from the Conservative Party, necessary to stand as a candidate:
- former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch;
- the government’s legal adviser (attorney general), Suella Braverman;
- former Foreign and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt;
- former defense minister and last trade minister, Penny Mordaunt;
- former finance minister Rishi Sunak;
- the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament, Tom Tugendhat;
- Foreign Secretary Liz Truss;
- the last finance minister, Nadhim Zahawi.
Former health minister Sajid Javid, whose resignation was one of those that added pressure on Boris Johnson, pulled out of the race just before the final list of candidates was announced. Two other candidates, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps and MP Rehman Chishti also dropped out due to lack of support.
The vote to determine Boris Johnson’s successor will take place over the summer in stages and will be open only to party members. The first round of voting was scheduled for Wednesday, with candidates who failed to secure at least 30 votes being eliminated. Further rounds will take place on Thursday and, if necessary, during the following week. The Conservative Party wants the two finalists to be chosen by July 21, so they can spend the rest of the summer campaigning across the country.
Mr. Johnson, who remains Prime Minister until his successor is known on September 5, resigned as leader of the Conservative Party after around 60 members of his executive had slammed the door, tired of repeated scandals.