Short version
- Rishi Sunak has led the Conservative Party to its worst ever election result.
- Sunak has announced his resignation, but will stay on until a new leader is chosen.
- No candidate has officially registered, but the battle for leadership could be intense.
Britain's Conservative Party suffered its worst defeat since the party was founded in 1834 on Friday.
Party leader and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already announced his resignation, but said he will stay on until the formal process of choosing his successor is complete.
So far, none of the Conservative Party's 121 members have formally announced their candidacy for the election.
It has not yet been decided whether the party will rush into a new leadership battle or wait for the right time.
But if the past few years repeat themselves, there could be tough battles with dirty tricks, betrayal of each other by political colleagues, and revelations of past mistakes.
Under the current rules – barring any changes – Conservative MPs will first vote for the relevant leadership candidates in several rounds. The person with the fewest votes in each round is eliminated.
Party members then have to choose between the two most popular ones.
Two central questions for the party are:
- Should the party work with former Brexit general Nigel Farage and Islah Party?
MPs are thought to be more centrist than the party's rank-and-file. On the other hand, the party's grassroots base is often further to the right than the electorate:
- Will the most controversial right-wing candidates be able to reach the crucial votes of the members or will they lose in the primary rounds to the more moderate deputies?
The British media highlighted seven candidates. times, BBC, daily Mail And guardian:
Kimmy Badinoch (44)
The former business secretary has been highlighted as the frontrunner for the leadership role by several British media outlets.
She is considered an “anti-woke” campaigner who engages the party’s grassroots, according to The Times. She campaigned on a promise to ban transgender people from women-only events or places, such as women’s gyms or maternity wards.
It came in fourth place and gained national fame in 2022. It was fairly unknown until then.
He has also been popular with activists by publicly showing loyalty to Rishi Sunak. But he may struggle to convince his colleagues in the House of Commons, the paper said.
“Chemistry will start an argument in an empty room,” an anonymous party colleague told the newspaper.
James Cleverly (54)
The former foreign minister has been a member of parliament since 2015.
He has served in the cabinets of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. He became the first black foreign secretary in British history. He was Home Secretary from the winter of 2023.
He was mentioned as a unifying figure by The Times.
His statements have been made on several occasions, including when he asked gay fans to respect local law during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He also denied making fun of Stockton-on-Tees and apologised for joking about putting drugs in his wife's drink, the BBC reported.
Robert Jenrick (42)
The former justice minister was one of the party's most stringent immigration policy.
In 2023, he resigned because he thought the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was not enough. He also ordered cartoon murals to be painted at a welcome centre for children arriving as asylum seekers in Dover.
His tough stance could serve as a deterrent to centrist parliamentarians.
Priti Patel (52)
The former home secretary was forced to step down as aid minister under Theresa May after informal meetings with Israeli government officials.
She tightened immigration policy as a minister and became known for her controversial statements. She signed a deal with Rwanda to send asylum seekers there. She criticised England players who took the knee in protest against racism in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
She was caught flouting rules on how a British minister should behave, but denies harassing people herself.
Tom Tugendhat (51)
The former security minister stood as a leadership candidate when Liz Truss won.
He tried to convince his colleagues that he represented a new beginning and could heal the wounds of Brexit in the party and the country.
The former officer is seen as a centrist candidate, which could make it difficult to convince the right-wing base. He voted to remain in the European Union when Britain voted to leave in 2016. He has been a vocal critic of NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
His chances may be boosted after centrist candidate Penny Mordaunt lost her parliamentary seat in the election, the BBC reported.
Suella Braverman (44)
Former Interior Minister on the right of the party.
He was sacked as interior minister in 2023 after police were accused of being politically motivated and too lenient in their handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Braverman described them as “hate marches” and said Islamists and extremists were running the country.
She also resigned from the same job in October 2022, after sending an official document from her personal email.
A vocal critic of Rishi Sunak's immigration policies after his resignation, The Times writes that she is the only potential leadership candidate who has so far said she thinks it is right to enter into a deal or work with Nigel Farage.
Victoria Atkins (48)
Former health minister who was promoted six months before the election.
A favorite of the moderate forces in the party. She did not refuse that she wanted to run. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2015.
Former deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden described Atkins as a “star”. But she may struggle to win over the fans if she reaches the play-offs.
Psst! Former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said it is too late for him to become leader in an interview with GB News. He has tried to become leader twice before. Two potential leadership candidates also lost their seats in Parliament in the party’s historic defeat, rendering them irrelevant: former Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
An earlier version of this article stated that Ms Priti Patel was a member of the House of Lords. This is incorrect. She was re-elected as the MP for Witham in the UK House of Commons at the election. The article was corrected on 16.11 on 8.7.24.
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