US Edition
The race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader is underway, with three senior Tory MPs having formally declared their candidacy and many more expected to follow suit.
Nominations opened on Wednesday and will close at 2.30pm on July 29, with candidates required to have a proposer, a seconder and eight nominations to proceed to the ballot.
A number of votes by MPs will whittle the shortlist down to four candidates, who will address the party faithful at the annual Tory conference at the start of October.
Further voting by the parliamentary party will then see four candidates become two, who will then be subject to a vote by Tory members with the leader announced on November 2.
Here, The Telegraph takes a look at who is running for Conservative leader, as well as who is backing them for the top job.
David Cameron
Former prime minister, now a member of the House of Lords. The Tory constitution says the head of the party has to be an MP. If he renounces his peerage and runs for Parliament – for example, at a by-election – the outgoing Foreign Secretary could technically make a dramatic return as Tory leader. However, this is extremely unlikely to happen. The former premier may also pay heed to the fact that he had a negative approval rating with Conservative Home readers in May.
Nigel Farage
Leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton-on-Sea. Mr Farage did his best to unseat as many Tory (and Labour) MPs as possible, presumably making him rather unpopular with the Conservative base. But some have speculated he could take the reins from Mr Sunak by defecting from inside Westminster.
Boris Johnson
The former prime minister is not currently an MP, having given up his seat in June last year and opted not to run again. But, like Lord Cameron, there is a very small possibility he could find his way back – whether that's this time round, or the next.
MPs who have ruled themselves out
Some have already ruled out a bid at the leadership
Jeremy Hunt
There had been speculation that the now former chancellor could make another leadership run after unexpectedly hanging on to his Godalming and Ash seat at Thursday’s election despite being widely expected to lose. He came second to Boris Johnson in 2019 and was seen as a potentially unifying figure, but told GB News: “No... That time has passed.”
Contenders who were ousted
Several high-profile would-be leaders lost their seats
Penny Mordaunt
Penny Mordaunt, the outgoing Commons Leader, ended up losing her seat by fewer than 1,000 votes, basically ruling her out of the race. She had been tipped as a contender after coming third in the 2022 leadership contest, and represented the Tories in two recent TV debates. Ms Mordaunt had boosted her popularity and her name recognition with her prominent ceremonial role at last year’s Coronation.
Steve Baker
Tory minister Steve Baker lost Wycombe to Labour candidate Emma Reynolds. Mr Baker had indicated that he would put his name forward if he had retained his seat. He was previously a senior Tory backbencher, chairing the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiteer MPs twice during the run up to Britain’s formal departure from the European Union on January 31, 2020.