Candidates vying to be the leader of the Conservative Party as well as the next Prime Minister have just hours to secure the support of at least 20 Members of Parliament.

This came after the party increased the number of nominations required to make it onto the first-round ballot in order to speed up the selection process. By far, 11 MPs have so far put themselves forward to replace Boris Johnson.

Three of them, Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, and Tom Tugenhadt, have so far passed the necessary threshold. Voting will get under way on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, with candidates needing 30 backers to make it into the second round. The field will be whittled-down to two finalists before the end of next week in successive rounds of voting by Tory MPs. A winner will be picked in a postal ballot of around 160,000 Conservative Party members over summer. Party bosses have said they plan to announce the result on September 5, 2022.

Why are we Here?

It came after Mr. Johnson last week announced he would stand down as party leader amid increasing dissent among his Members of Parliament and mass resignations by his ministers.

Other candidates could still enter the race if they secured more than 20 nominations by 18:00 BST, with Home Secretary, Priti Patel, being among those believed to be weighing up a run. Brexit Opportunities Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, ruled himself out, telling the media that he wanted to “unite rather than further fracture the right”. The contest so far has been dominated by the issue of taxation, with nearly all of the candidates pledging cuts to personal or business taxes, or both.

On Monday, July 11, 2022, the 1922 backbench committee, which organises leadership contests, increased the number of nominations needed to stand. Candidates now need the support of 20 fellow Tory MPs compared to eight at the last contest. Vice-chair of the Committee, Nusrat Ghani, told the media that this wasn’t a change of rules, but a “tweak” which she said is done every time.

“I don’t think it is a great task if you are trying to run for leader of the Conservative Party that you have the support of at least 20 colleagues.”
Vice-chair of the Committee, Nusrat Ghani

A Breakdown of the Timetable

According to the Conservative leadership timetable, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, nominations are expected to get on the ballot open, which will close at 18.00 BST. On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the first round of voting among Tory Members of Parliament will be held, of which Thursday, July 14, 2022, is likely the date for the second round of voting.

Monday, July 18, 2022, will likely be the date for the third round of voting, if required, while the deadline for deciding the final two candidates will take place on Thursday, July 21, 2022. After a decision is made, the winner will be announced on Monday, September 5, 2022.

Rishi Sunak and Tom Tugenhadt are to launch their official campaigns on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Mr Sunak, who served as Chancellor until he stood down last week, is expected to pledge to cut taxes, but only once inflation has been “gripped”. He will likely disclose that, under his leadership, reducing the tax burden would be a “question of ‘when’, not ‘if'”.

On the other hand, Mr. Tugendhat, who is the Chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, who already said he would reverse the rise in national insurance and cut fuel duty, will pledge measures to boost economic growth.