Nominations open in Conservative Party leadership contest

If two or more candidates clear the first hurdle, a three-month campaign will begin when nominations close on 29 July.

Candidates will have the summer recess, which starts on 30 July, to mount their campaigns.

When Parliament returns in early September, a number of rounds of voting among Conservative MPs will reduce the field to an expected four leadership hopefuls.

In each round, the candidate who finishes last will be eliminated.

‘Beauty parade’

The final four will be given a chance to speak directly to Conservative members at the party’s conference between 29 September and 2 October.

Precise details of this so-called “beauty parade” have yet to be announced.

After the conference, the remaining candidates will be reduced to two in a final round of voting by MPs and those two will be put to a ballot of party members.

Party members’ vote

If two candidates remain at the end of these ballots of MPs , members of the Conservative Party will choose the next leader in a vote in the days leading up to 31 October.

Party members will make their choice via secure online voting, though this system has previously been criticised for its susceptibility to hackers and rogue state interference.

In recent years, party members have tended to pick the more right-wing candidate of the final two. In the first of the 2022 leadership elections, Mr Sunak consistently won more support from than Liz Truss during each round until party members had their say.

To be eligible to vote, party members must have been active for 90 days before the ballot closes and must have been party members when nominations opened.

New leader chosen

The new leader of the Conservative Party will be announced on 2 November – at which point Mr Sunak will hand over the reins.

The winner will become the official leader of the opposition and the figurehead of the Conservatives’ efforts to rebuild the party.