Tory Party Sets Out New Rules For Running Week Long Leadership Contest
Senior Tory MP Graham Brady announced the new leadership rules (Alamy)
2 min read
Leadership candidates will need support from 100 MPs to secure their spot on the ballot as Tory officials attempt to speed up the selection process.
Members of the party's ruling 1922 Committee alongside party chairman Jake Berry met on Thursday to decide the rules for the leadership contest which will see a new Prime Minister selected in just a week's time.
Speaking just hours after Truss announced she was quitting as Prime Minister, 1922 chairman Graham Brady confirmed Tory hopefuls would need 100 backers to get on to the ballot paper, with a cut off at 2pm on Monday.
With 357 Tory MPs, the new rules mean a maximum of three leadership candidates could go on the first ballot, with all MPs votes set to take place on Monday.
Brady said the high threshold was one "that can be achieved by any serious candidate with a chance of going through."
Under the party's rules, members are legally required to be given a vote on the final two candidates, with online voting set to open on Tuesday, but they could be cut out of the process if one drops out after the final MP vote.
Brady said voting for members would close later that week with a final result announced on Friday 28 October.
But if one leadership candidate wins an overwhelming number of MPs votes on Monday it is likely the remaining candidates would drop out the contest, meaning the UK's next Prime Minister could be chosen by Monday evening.
A private hustings for Conservative MPs will be held on Monday ahead of the first round of voting.
The threshold is five times higher than the 20 MPs required to get on the ballot during the summer leadership contest which ran from July until September and saw eight Tory MPs go through to the first vote.
Several senior MPs, including Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are expected to run, with support growing among Tory MPs for Boris Johnson to make a return.
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