Rishi Sunak currently leads the first ballot in the race to Conservative Party leadership by 88 votes. Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss secure 67 and 50 votes respectively. Meanwhile, Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt fail to achieve the required 30 votes and exit the contest.
Yesterday’s elections for Conservative Party Leadership pitched six candidates. From Left to right, Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat,Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak , Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch, source ,BBC.
358 Conservative party lawmakers elected their contestants to their party’s leadership in Westminster yesterday afternoon. And the first round of elections pitched six candidates for the post of Conservative party leader and Prime Minister. Soon Sir Graham Brady, the Head of the 1922 Committee announced results.
So far Rishi Sunak leads the race with 88 votes. At the second place is Penny Mordaunt with 67 votes. Liz Truss is at the third place with 50 votes. Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Suella Braverman have finished with 40, 37,32 seats respectively. Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt have secured 25 and 18 votes. They are not going for the next round of elections.
With Zahawi and Hunt out, the other six contestants will have to woo in their supporters to their camps. Meanwhile, Sajid Javid and Rehman Chisthi have withdrawn their names from race due to lack of support. It is possible that Javid’s early mutiny against Johnson had angered Johnson loyalists. And he failed to secure their support.
How Conservatives Elect their Party Leader
To enter the race for Conservative leadership bid, a candidate must secure the backing of atleast 20 MPs. This number is usually not fixed and the 1922 Committee generally fixes it. So far eight candidates had secured such support. Then the existing Tory MPs participate in multiple rounds of votes.
In the first round, candidates with less than 30 votes will be eliminated. The very process usually repeats itself until there are only two candidates standing. This leaves enough room for shifting allegiances. As Zahawi and Hunt stand down, the remaining candidates would flock to seek the support of their voters and backers.
When only two candidates remain, the second stage begins. Postal ballots are sent to grass root party members to elect their new leader. This usually lasts for a few weeks. When a candidate emerges victorious, that person becomes the new Conservative leader. However, under certain circumstances, this too can be subject to a vote by members to ratify the results. So far further rounds of votes will take place on Thursday to elect the remaining two candidates. After that they will face vote by 18,000 party members across UK.
Takeaways from Yesterday’s Election
So far Rishi Sunak appears to be the most favoured candidate among Tory MPs. On the other hand, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss aren’t far behind. Supporters of Rishi Sunak claim him to be “the best economist” of all candidates. Both Mordaunt and Truss are strong candidates. However, support from MPs is supposed to ebb and flow, a Sunak supporter says. Sunak, on his own part has promised tax cuts and run the economy like Margaret Thatcher did.
“ I will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done”, he said.
Meanwhile, a You-Gov poll has boosted Mordaunt, putting her ahead with several other Tory leaders. She too describes herself as a “small state” Conservative and has pledged tax cuts. Yesterday she felt “very honoured” about finishing second in the elections. On the other hand, a spokeswoman for Liz Truss canvassed her opinion in Truss’s favour. “Liz Truss has the experience to deliver the benefits of Brexit from day one, grow our economy”, she said.
(inputs,BBC)
