 Let the Games Begin... (Posted July 7, 2022) Tweet Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to remain in post until Conservative MPs elect a new party leader, but reports suggest that a number of his backbenchers prefer that he resign sooner rather than later, if not immediately. Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor Dominic Raab, who filled in for Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions last week (June 29) would seem to be the logical choice for the interim appointment, but it may take more ministerial resignations and ultimatums, if not exceptional party-procedural measures, to pry Johnson's fingers from the door jamb. Both Raab and former HCLG and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove have ruled out leadership bids of their own. 2022 Conservative Party Leadership Contest Tracker Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer has tweeted that if Johnson attempts to remain through the summer, he will table a motion of no confidence in the government. Even still, with Johnson confirmed to go, our attention turns to the 2022 Conservative Party Leadership Contest. The linked page will track candidates and endorsements through the final vote. While we wait for endorsements to emerge from MPs' Twitter accounts, blog posts, and constituency interviews, you can get a primer on what the field and allegiances may look like (or, in light of confirmed refusals to run, what the field will NOT look like, namely Cleverly, Gove, Hancock, Harper, and Raab) with our 2019 Conservative Party Leadership Contest tracker. So far, MPs rumored to be standing for the leadership (or who have already declared their candidacy) include: Kemi Badenoch Steve Baker, though he ruled himself out before declaring to back Suella Braverman John Baron Suella Braverman Rehman Chishti Jeremy Hunt Sajid Javid Penny Mordaunt Rishi Sunak Liz Truss Ben Wallace ruled himself out of the contest, surprising pundits who had him polling as the most popular Conservative MP for several weeks leading up to Wednesday's ministerial meltdown. Tom Tugendhat Nadhim Zahawi UPDATE: On July 12, Grant Shapps and Rehman Chishti conceded after failing to reach the 20-member nomination threshold to qualify for the ballot. On July 13, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated, having failed to achieve 30 votes in Round 1. Round 1 Results, July 13, 2022: Sunak, 88 Mordaunt, 67 Truss, 50 Badenoch, 40 Tugendhat, 37 Braverman, 32 Zahawi, 25 (eliminated) Hunt, 18 (eliminated) Round 2 Results, July 14, 2022: Sunak, 101 Mordaunt, 83 Truss, 64 Badenoch, 49 Tugendhat, 32 Braverman, 27 (eliminated) Round 3 Results, July 18, 2022: Sunak, 115 Mordaunt, 82 Truss, 71 Badenoch, 58 Tugendhat, 31 (eliminated) Round 4 Results, July 19, 2022: Sunak, 118 Mordaunt, 92 Truss, 86 Badenoch, 59 (eliminated) Round 5 Results, July 20, 2022: Sunak, 137 Truss, 113 Mordaunt, 105 (eliminated) Sunak and Truss go through to the final ballot. The contest will conclude on Friday Sept 2 with a full vote from Conservative Party members. The winner will be announced on Monday Sept 5. |
| Tags | Kemi Badenoch | John Baron | Suella Braverman | Nadine Dorries | Jeremy Hunt | Boris Johnson | Penny Mordaunt | Dominic Raab | Rishi Sunak | Elizabeth Truss | Tom Tugendhat | Nadhim Zahawi |