Summary
- Tory leadership candidates will need support from 20 fellow MPs to be included in the first round of voting, with nominations opening and closing tomorrow. The first ballot is on Wednesday, with candidates needing 30 votes from Tory MPs, and the second ballot is on Thursday.
- The winner of the leadership contest will be announced on 5 September
- ConservativeHome polling has found that Penny Mordaunt is in first place among Tory members to be the next PM, followed by Kemi Badenoch.
- Education unions have written to the newly appointed education minister, Andrea Jenkyns, warning that her use of an obscene gesture and her excuses since would be unacceptable from a pupil or member of staff.
- The Conservative MP Jamie Wallis has been disqualified from driving for six months and fined £2,500 after being found guilty of failing to stop, failing to report an accident and leaving the vehicle in a dangerous position, after crashing his car and fleeing the scene.
Updated
When asked whether the threshold is too high for lesser-known candidates to reach, Sir Graham Brady denied that this is the case.
He added: “We do need to make sure there’s a decent period of time before the result is announced on September 5. We need to make sure there’s a reasonable chance for the party and the country to meet and question the candidates at regional candidates.”
Updated
