Six Candidates Enter Race To Become Next Tory Leader

2 min read29 July

Six Conservative MPs have formally entered the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory party leader after receiving the required number of backers.

Bob Blackman, chair of the party's 1922 Committee, confirmed on Monday afternoon that the following Tory MPs had made it onto the ballot:

Kemi Badenoch
James Cleverly
Robert Jenrick
Priti Patel
Mel Stride
Tom Tugendhat

The candidates needed to win the backing of 10 Conservative MPs to qualify for the contest. This threshold is significant lower during the last leadership election in 2022, when candidates needed the backing of 100 MPs.

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, announced on Sunday that she would not be launching a bid to succeed Sunak having failed to secure enough supporters.

The six leadership hopefuls, who have all served in Cabinet roles, will spend the summer campaigning and debating before being whittled down to four by Tory MPs. Those four will continue the contest at the party's Autumn conference in Birmingham, before being whittled down to two after another round of voting from MPs.

The parliamentary party will reduce the number of candidates to two, with Tory party members then choosing the winner. The new leader will be elected on 2 November.

Sunak will stay on as leader until his successor is announced.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Blackman said he was "determined this will be a good clean contest" and announced there would be "yellow cards" for candidates who act too aggressively or resort to personal insults. The 1922 Chairman said the system was to prevent "backbiting" and stop candidates from "attacking each other".

However, it was unclear what would happen to candidates if they receive two yellow cards and whether they would be disciplined further.

Badenoch, 44, the Shadow Levelling-up Secretary, who announced she was running for leader in The Times on Monday, is currently seen as the favourite. She promised a "renewal" of Conservative values and to make sure the party "will speak the truth again".

Jenrick, who was particularly critical of the previous Tory government's approach to immigration, has hoovered up the support of Conservative MPs who previously backed Braverman, including right-wing back benchers MPs Danny Kruger and Sir John Hayes.

Tugendhat and Cleverly will hope to secure the backing of the party's One Nation, 'moderate' wing while Priti Patel, the former home secetary, has set out to "unite" the Tories and give its party members more of a voice.

Stride, a major ally of Sunak, will focus his leadership bid on competence and delivery.

The successful candidate will manage a party of 121 MPs — the smallest cohort any Tory party leader will have managed in more than two centuries.

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