Boris Johnson pulled out of the Tory Party leadership contest on Sunday night, bringing an end to his audacious bid to return to No 10 Downing Street just two months after he was forced out by his own ministers following a series of scandals.
Mr Johnson claimed to have the 100 backers required to get on the official ballot in the race to replace Liz Truss - who resigned as PM on 20 October after failing to get her premiership back on track in the aftermath of September’s disastrous mini-Budget - but only 54 publicly declared for him.
His quitting left two candidates remaining on Monday morning - Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor and Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, with the former securing the public backing of 155 MPs and the latter 25. Some 177 Conservative MPs have yet to publicly declare their support for either candidate.
Here’s what happens next.
What will happen on Monday?
The deadline for nominations is 2pm on Monday. If Ms Mordaunt fails to reach the 100 nominations required to get on the ballot paper then Mr Sunak will be automatically crowned as the new party leader and will by extension become the next prime minister.
If the Commons leader manages to secure the necessary backers then the contest will be put out to Tory Party members who joined the party at least three months ago to have their say, assuming neither she nor Mr Sunak decides to drop out.
Will Conservative MPs have a say?
Before any ballot of Tory members takes place Conservative MPs will take part in an indicative vote between 3.30pm and 5.30pm, with the result expected around 6pm. The purpose of this vote is to signal to the party faithful who MPs prefer as their next leader.
Sir Jake Berry, the Tory Party chairman, said last week that there would be an “expedited, binding, online vote of Conservative Party members to choose its next leader.”
Will there be any hustings?
The ballot of party members will close at 11am on 28 October, with the result announced later that day.
Sir Jake said Conservative HQ will be working with broadcasters to arrange one broadcast event so members can hear from the final two candidates before they vote. However, no hustings have been announced.
Mr Sunak was pictured leaving his house on Monday, on the day he could become prime minister. He was wearing a suit with a spotted navy tie as he departed his west London home shortly after 8am.
The MP for Richmond was being driven to his campaign headquarters in Westminster.
He could be confirmed as prime minister within hours if Penny Mordaunt does not receive enough nominations from her fellow Conservative MPs.
In a statement posted to Twitter after Mr Johnson pulled out of the race, Mr Sunak thanked the former PM for delivering Brexit and the vaccine roll out.
“He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine,” he added.
“We will always be grateful to him for that. Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”
