Liz Truss has resigned as prime minister, saying she expects a replacement to be in place by the end of next week. Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers that decides the rules of a leadership contest, set out the rules on Thursday evening as follows:
When will there be a new prime minister?
Brady said he hoped the process would be concluded by 28 October – next Friday. But the result could come much sooner – perhaps even by Monday night.
What do candidates need to do?
Candidates will need a minimum of 100 nominations to proceed to the ballot, according to new rules decided by a committee of MPs. Nominations start on Thursday night and close at 2pm on Monday.
If two or three candidates reach the threshold – which is possible – then there will be two rounds of voting from MPs. The first vote will take place on Monday at 3.30pm with results announced at 6pm and an indicative round, if needed, would take place that evening, with the final result at 9pm.
MPs will hear from the nominated candidates at a hustings – but it will be behind closed doors.
Will the wider Tory membership be consulted?
Yes – despite the wishes of many Tory MPs. But they will not get to vote unless more than one candidate receives 100 or more nominations. A ballot of members will be conducted via “secure online voting” – according to the party.
The ballot will close at 11am on Friday 28 October and the result will be announced later that day. Only qualifying members, who have been a member for at least three months, can vote.
There will be at least one hustings between the final two candidates, via a broadcaster which is likely to be the BBC.
Who decided the process?
The 1922 Committee has an 18-member executive whose members are elected by all Conservative MPs except those in the government. It runs the parliamentary side of the leadership contest. The party board, which includes the party chair, senior officials, peers and MPs, is usually in charge of the membership aspect of the process and hustings.
Could MPs avoid the membership being consulted?
Yes, if just one candidate reaches the 100 nominations threshold then there will be a coronation. But at the last round of voting in the summer leadership contest, three MPs did get more than 100 votes – Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt.
Who is in the running?
Sunak, who lost to Truss in the previous leadership race, is expected to run and had received more than 20 endorsements on Thursday night. Boris Johnson is very likely to run again, according to sources close to the former prime minister – and would be more likely to succeed if members had a say.
But it is likely he will find it an uphill battle to secure enough nominations – almost 60 ministers resigned from his government. Johnson has about 15 nominations so far – even though he has not formally declared.
Mordaunt is also likely to stand and has a handful of endorsements already. Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove have ruled themselves out.
