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Tom Vigar

Sunak v Truss to be PM - what happens next in Tory leadership election?

The bitter contest to be the UK's next Prime Minister has been narrowed down to a final two. Over five rounds of voting, Tory MPs whittled down the list of candidates to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, with Penny Mordaunt being eliminated today.

In the last round of voting among MPs, Mr Sunak received 137 votes, Ms Truss won 133 and Ms Mordaunt came narrowly behind on 105. But the final winner of the contest won't be announced until September 5 - so what happens between now and then?

Tory members have their say

Ms Truss and Mr Sunak must now campaign to win the support of Conservative Party members. Political parties don't have to say how many members they have, but during the last Tory leadership election we know that around 160,000 people were eligible to vote. The party says that number has since grown.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will face off to become next Prime Minister

To try and win their support, the two candidates will now take part in a series of hustings around the country, where they will be quizzed on their policies. After this, members will choose the winner in a postal vote and that person will automatically become Prime Minister.

Could we know the winner before September?

The result is due to be announced on September 5 by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers. It is possible that we would know the next Prime Minister earlier than this if one candidate pulls out, but given that there isn't an obvious favourite between the two, that would seem unlikely at this stage.

Sir Graham has said he is "keen" that party members are able to have their say.

Is Boris Johnson still in Number 10 and what power does he have?

Despite resigning as leader of the Conservative Party, Mr Johnson said he would remain as Prime Minister until the new leader is chosen. Constitutionally there must always be a Prime Minister in place, so it was either that or hand over to an interim Prime Minister.

When a new leader is elected, Mr Johnson will resign as Prime Minister and the winning candidate will be invited to Buckingham Palace where the Queen - on the advice of the ruling party - will appoint them as the new Prime Minister. In the meantime, Mr Johnson retains all his powers.

However he doesn't have the authority to introduce any substantial new policies and he has promised not to make any "major changes of direction". He will still represent the UK around the world and can still make changes to his team of ministers. Just before he leaves office he is likely to award knighthoods and make appointments to the House of Lords in his resignation honours list.

Will there be a general election?

Not necessarily. There isn't automatically a general election when a Prime Minister resigns. And in a debate on ITV on Sunday, all the remaining candidates, including Ms Truss and Mr Sunak, said they would not call a general election if they won. The latest the next general election could be held is January 2025, but the new Prime Minister may choose to call one at some point before then.

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