Who exactly are the 160,000 Conservative members who will choose the next prime minister?

Tory MPs have now voted five times to narrow their leadership field to just two candidates. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will face off, and the winner will replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Unlike previous rounds, however, this one has a wider electorate: Tory members will be able to vote on which of the two becomes party leader.

We can expect to see the tenor of the race change as candidates try to appeal beyond the parliamentary party and to members at large. But who are these people ? How much? webp" alt="Boris Johnson left conservatives in 'deep s***', ex-donor warns" height="56" width="82" layout="responsive" class="i-amphtml-layout- responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined" i-amphtml-layout="responsive"/>Boris Johnson left Tories in 'deep shit', warns former donor Truss vs Sunak – and the choice of two very different future UK models

Delegates at the Conservative Conference

(Getty Images)

We don't know how many members of the Conservative party there are because the party has stopped publishing official figures.

But we do know that there were at least 160,000 people in the party when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. Effectively, that is the number of people eligible to contest the last leadership contest in 2019. The party says that number is likely to be higher this time around.

Where do they live?< figure class="Image__ImageWrapper-sc-482ou5-0 gSYFvi image align-none">

Many Tories live in London and the South East

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A useful resource for understanding party membership is the Economic and Social Research Council Party Membership Project, led by scholars Tim Bale, Paul Webb and Monica Poletti.

The latest Project figures on Conservative Party membership suggest that the member will largely be chosen by people living in London and the South East.

As of January 2020, the Project has determined that 56 % of Tory members lived in London and the South East. Only 18% live in the Midlands, 20% in the north of England and 6% in Scotland.

This may partly explain why leadership candidates haven't said much about the government's so-called flagship "race to the top" policy. This is for the voters in the marginal seats they need to win the general election, not the people who participate in the lead...