How the Conservative Party leadership contest works and when the winner will be announced

Robert Jenrick, the former minister of immigration, received the most votes from MPs on Wednesday (September 4) with 28, followed by Kemi Badenoch on 22.

James Cleverly was third with 21, followed by Tom Tugendhat with 17, Mel Stride with 16, and Dame Priti with 14.

A total of 118 votes were cast, meaning three Tory MPs did not have their say. Sky News said the acting leader Rishi Sunak was one of those three.

The result of the first vote in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership contest

PA Graphics

Tory members will vote in the coming weeks until two candidates remain to replace Mr Sunak.

Mr Sunak will continue to lead the party until his successor is announced.

So how do the Tories select a new leader and what happens next in the 2024 leadership contest?

Here’s all you need to know.

How do the Conservatives choose their new leader?

The process for selecting a new leader of the Conservative Party involves multiple stages and varies slightly depending on whether the party is in government or opposition. Here’s an overview of the procedure:

1. Resignation of the leader

A leadership election is triggered when the leader resigns or is removed (such as after losing a vote of no confidence by the party).

Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) who wish to stand for the leadership must be nominated by a certain number of their colleagues. The threshold for nomination has varied in recent years. In 2019, leadership contenders needed eight nominations, while in October 2022 candidates required 100 supporters.

3. MPs’ voting rounds (eliminating candidates)

Once nominations close, Conservative MPs vote in successive rounds.
If there are multiple candidates, the MPs hold a series of votes to eliminate the candidate with the fewest votes in each round.
This process continues until only two candidates remain.

4. Conservative Party membership vote

The final two candidates are then presented to the wider Conservative Party membership.
Conservative Party members across the UK, who have paid to join the party, are eligible to vote. They cast their votes in a one-member, one-vote system.
The voting is usually done via postal ballots.

The candidate who receives the most votes from the membership becomes the leader of the Conservative Party.
If the party is in government, the new leader also becomes the prime minister
If only one candidate receives enough nominations from MPs or only one candidate remains after MPs’ voting rounds, they may automatically become the new leader without needing a membership vote.
The entire process is overseen by the 1922 Committee, a powerful group within the Conservative Party that represents backbench MPs and organizes leadership elections.

What’s next in the process?

A second vote will be held on Tuesday, September 10. This will reduce the contenders to four before the party’s annual conference at the end of September.

The remaining four will face onstage hustings during the conference on September 29-October 2.

Another vote on October 9 or 10 will reduce the candidates to two, with the wider party membership then choosing their new leader. This will come after the ballot closes at 5pm on October 31.