UK to announce new Prime Minister on September 5
The new British Prime Minister who will replace outgoing Boris Johnson will be announced on September 5, the ruling Conservative Party announced on Monday, with 11 candidates currently vying for the post.
The leadership race was sparked last week when Johnson, 58, was forced to resign after a frenzy of more than 50 resignations from his government in opposition to his outraged premiership.
>The influential 1922 committee of non-ministerial Conservative MPs in parliament presented a timetable for the party leadership election on Monday.
Nominations will officially open and close on Tuesday, with a new Prime Minister expected to be installed when Parliament returns from the summer recess on September 5, Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, told reporters.
>Tory MPs will narrow the current slate to the bottom two through a series of ballots, with the lowest performing candidate eliminated after each round, before party members choose the winner.
With calls for Johnson to leave Downing Street as soon as possible - and to avoid the process dragging on during MPs' summer recess - the numbers are expected to be quickly whittled down to just two.
The 1922 Committee's co-executive secretary, Bob Blackman, said they were committed to doing this before the July 21 summer recess.
The first ballot will take place on Wednesday, with a second ballot likely on Thursday, Brady said.
In order to speed up the process, candidates must be supported by at least 20 MPs to enter the race, instead of the usual eight, and any candidate who does not gain the support of 30 MPs in the first round will be eliminated .
Among the candidates are Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, whose departures as finance minister and health minister sparked the wave of resignations.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Sunak's successor Nadhim Zahawi also made a statement, and Home Secretary Priti Patel is reportedly considering an offer.
But a poll of rank-and-file members by influential website ConservativeHome published on Monday showed strong support for less prominent candidates, with former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt holding a narrow lead over the arch-Tory Kemi Badenoch.
Brexit figurehead Johnson dramatically announced his departure as party leader last Thursday, but remains in Downing Street until a replacement is found.
Javid said that with Britain facing a cost of living crisis, energy price hikes and war in Ukraine, the country's leaders needed more than ever" skills".
"I'm hopeful that this campaign can and will be the turning point we need," he said at the campaign launch.
- Falling out of favor -During a visit to a scientific research institute in London, Johnson was asked directly if he would support any of the candidates, six of whom are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
“The Prime Minister’s job at this stage is to let the party decide, let them do it and continue to carry out the projects for which we were elected,” he said.
Johnson's fall from grace has been spectacular. In December 2019, he won a landslide victory of 80 seats on the promise to withdraw Britain from the European Union.
His parliamentary majority allowed him to do just that, but his job as Prime Minister has been hit by waves of scandal, including over anti-lockdown parties in Downing Street that landed him a police fine.
Another row erupted last week over his appointment of a senior colleague when he was aware of sexual assault allegations against him, prompting the government resignations.
In his speech, he blamed the "herd" for acting against him, and his allies were angry with Sunak.
But Johnson declined to say Monday whether he felt betrayed.
"I don't want to say more about all that," he said.
"There's a contest going on and it happened and you know, I wouldn't want to waste any chances by offering my support.
“I just have to keep going and over the last few days or weeks…the prime minister’s constitutional function in this situation is to keep carrying out the mandate. And that’s what I’m doing,” he said. he added.
"The more we focus on the people who elect us...(and) the less we talk about politics in Westminster, the happier we will generally be."
AFP
The leadership race was sparked last week when Johnson, 58, was forced to resign after a frenzy of more than 50 resignations from his government in opposition to his outraged premiership.
>The influential 1922 committee of non-ministerial Conservative MPs in parliament presented a timetable for the party leadership election on Monday.
Nominations will officially open and close on Tuesday, with a new Prime Minister expected to be installed when Parliament returns from the summer recess on September 5, Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, told reporters.
>Tory MPs will narrow the current slate to the bottom two through a series of ballots, with the lowest performing candidate eliminated after each round, before party members choose the winner.
With calls for Johnson to leave Downing Street as soon as possible - and to avoid the process dragging on during MPs' summer recess - the numbers are expected to be quickly whittled down to just two.
The 1922 Committee's co-executive secretary, Bob Blackman, said they were committed to doing this before the July 21 summer recess.
The first ballot will take place on Wednesday, with a second ballot likely on Thursday, Brady said.
In order to speed up the process, candidates must be supported by at least 20 MPs to enter the race, instead of the usual eight, and any candidate who does not gain the support of 30 MPs in the first round will be eliminated .
Among the candidates are Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, whose departures as finance minister and health minister sparked the wave of resignations.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Sunak's successor Nadhim Zahawi also made a statement, and Home Secretary Priti Patel is reportedly considering an offer.
But a poll of rank-and-file members by influential website ConservativeHome published on Monday showed strong support for less prominent candidates, with former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt holding a narrow lead over the arch-Tory Kemi Badenoch.
Brexit figurehead Johnson dramatically announced his departure as party leader last Thursday, but remains in Downing Street until a replacement is found.
Javid said that with Britain facing a cost of living crisis, energy price hikes and war in Ukraine, the country's leaders needed more than ever" skills".
"I'm hopeful that this campaign can and will be the turning point we need," he said at the campaign launch.
- Falling out of favor -During a visit to a scientific research institute in London, Johnson was asked directly if he would support any of the candidates, six of whom are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
“The Prime Minister’s job at this stage is to let the party decide, let them do it and continue to carry out the projects for which we were elected,” he said.
Johnson's fall from grace has been spectacular. In December 2019, he won a landslide victory of 80 seats on the promise to withdraw Britain from the European Union.
His parliamentary majority allowed him to do just that, but his job as Prime Minister has been hit by waves of scandal, including over anti-lockdown parties in Downing Street that landed him a police fine.
Another row erupted last week over his appointment of a senior colleague when he was aware of sexual assault allegations against him, prompting the government resignations.
In his speech, he blamed the "herd" for acting against him, and his allies were angry with Sunak.
But Johnson declined to say Monday whether he felt betrayed.
"I don't want to say more about all that," he said.
"There's a contest going on and it happened and you know, I wouldn't want to waste any chances by offering my support.
“I just have to keep going and over the last few days or weeks…the prime minister’s constitutional function in this situation is to keep carrying out the mandate. And that’s what I’m doing,” he said. he added.
"The more we focus on the people who elect us...(and) the less we talk about politics in Westminster, the happier we will generally be."
AFP
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