The outgoing British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had originally planned to remain in power until October, but with today’s announcement, that period has been significantly shortened. The 1922 Committee, which oversees the party’s internal election process, consisting of Conservative members of the House of Commons who do not hold government posts, has modified the terms for naming candidates: until now, the support of 9 parliamentarians was required, but now that number has been increased to 20.
In addition, potential candidates should gather all this together today. So far, only two of the candidates have succeeded in securing the support of former Chancellor Rishi Su with 40 and Commerce Secretary Penny Mordaunt with 24.
As a next step, a day later, the first round will take place, during which the support of 30 MPs will be needed to move forward. The next day, on July 14, the competition will be reduced to two candidates by the end of the day, with voting still going on among the remaining candidates – always with the candidate with the fewest votes disqualified. Nearly 100,000 party members will vote on the candidates through September 5.
Cover photo: House of Commons / PA Images via Getty Images
