JAMES Cleverly has become the first Tory leadership hopeful to declare his candidacy in the race to replace Rishi Sunak.
The shadow home secretary said he hoped he could “unite the Conservative Party and overturn Starmer’s loveless landslide” as he made his opening pitch on Tuesday.
It could potentially be a crowded field in the contest with nominations to replace Rishi Sunak now open.
Here’s all you need to know.
How does the leadership race work?
Firstly, it’s important to note that the next Tory leader MUST be a member of parliament, meaning those who recently lost their seat in the General Election won’t be eligible.
Penny Mordaunt (below) for example had been tipped as a potential successor but lost her seat in Portsmouth North to Labour’s Amanda Martin.
Nominations open on Wednesday, July 24 and will close on Monday July 29.
In order to be considered, candidates will need a total of 10 nominations, including a proposer and seconder.
Anybody who fails to meet this threshold will not be included in the next stage. According to the Institute for Government, the current number of Tory MPs means as many as 11 candidates could receive the necessary number of nominations.
What happens next?
The contest will then proceed in two stages. First, Tory MPs will vote to narrow down the field of candidates.
Votes are planned for September 4, 9, 10 and 11 to narrow the list down to four. The remaining candidates will then have the chance to make their case at the party’s conference between September 29 and October 2.
MPs will then vote again on October 9 and 10 until only two candidates remain.
Following this, the party membership will then be given a vote on the two remaining candidates.
Any party member who has been a member for 90 days when the ballot opens will be eligible to vote and the winner will be announced on November 2.
Should one of the final two candidates drop out, as Andrea Leadsom did in 2016, then the members will not vote.
Who is in the running?
Cleverly became the first MP to announce he would be running to replace Sunak as his party’s leader.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman (above) is also widely expected to launch a bid as she warned the Tories must not become a “collection of fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks”.
Others to be tipped for the role include former business secretary Kemi Badenoch as well as former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.
