A three month-long process to select a new Conservative party leader will begin this week after Rishi Sunak announced he was standing down following his party’s mauling at the general election.
Nominations for the former Prime Minister’s replacement open on Wednesday, July 24 at 7pm and will close at 2.30pm on Monday, July 29.
To be considered each contender will need the backing of at least ten Tory MPs. The parliamentary party will narrow the list down to four candidates, who will make their case to members at the Conservative Conference in Birmingham in the autumn.
Two final two candidates will then be subject to a vote by Conservative Party members and the winner announced on November 2.
Here are the runners and riders so far:
Kemi Badenoch
The combative former business secretary, and darling of the Tory right, is currently favourite to succeed Rishi Sunak. She came fourth in the Conservative leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson in July 2022. But William Hill has her drifting from 11/8 out to 13/8 to win the leadership following a surge in support for James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick.
James Cleverly
Having served as education secretary, foreign secretary, and home secretary, Mr Cleverly is one of the more experienced contenders. While popular within the party, he is seen as occasionally gaffe prone. He has said he has “given serious thought” to making a bid to lead the Conservatives and warned rivals not to “divide up and factionalise” the party.
Robert Jenrick
The right-leaning former immigration minister resigned his frontbench job over the previous government’s Rwanda scheme, stating it was not strong enough. He is now second favourite to become leader and has said the Conservative party is the “natural home for Reform voters”. But a scandal involving an east London housing scheme may come back to haunt his bid. In 2020 it emerged that then housing secretary Mr Jenrick had intervened to approve billionaire Richard Desmond’s Westferry Printworks development on the Isle of Dogs after the pair had sat next to each other at a Tory fundraising dinner. Documents later suggested Mr Jenrick had taken a particular interest in the plans and officials stated that he was “insistent” that it be approved before a local council charge worth about £40m was imposed. He was later sacked by Boris Johnson in a reshuffle.
Tom Tugendhat
The ex-security minister and former soldier is a favourite of the party’s centrist One Nation caucus and is likely to be backed by MPs worried about the Tories lurching significantly to the right. He stood to replace Boris Johnson in 2022, but was eliminated in the third round of parliamentary voting.
Priti Patel
The former home secretary and Boris Johnson loyalist refused to stand for the leadership in 2022 despite having a number of Tory MP backers. She is seen as a candidate who may be able to unite the right of the party and its more moderate ‘One Nation’ members.
Suella Braverman
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Another former home secretary who is very much on the right of the Conservative party. She has been forced to deny she plans to defect to Reform UK if she loses the leadership contest. Her attacks on her own party with claims it risked becoming full of "centrist cranks" may have alienated those more moderate Tory MPs.
Jeremy Hunt
The former chancellor has ruled himself out of standing for the leadership again after narrowly retaining his Surrey seat at the election. But he may still come under pressure to stand by centrist MPs concerned about the party lurching to the right.
Mel Stride
The shadow work and pensions secretary has said “a number of colleagues” have urged him to launch a Conservative leadership bid. He’s warned the party it faces a “painstaking” battle to win over young voters and argued against “ideological labels” when pressed on whether he would seek to prevent a rightward shift in the party.
Sir Iain Duncan-Smith
Following the Conservative’s bruising general election defeat, Sir Iain was being touted as a "caretaker" party leader amid rumours Rishi Sunak wanted to step down from the role immediately. After defying the odds and retaining his Chingford and Woodford Green seat at the vote on July 4, could this former leader of the opposition make a come back? He is the 66/1 outsider.
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