The contest to replace Rishi Sunak as the leader of the Conservatives following the party’s catastrophic election defeat is now underway, with several prominent figures expected to run.
The 1922 Committee has announced that a three-month leadership contest will kick off before Parliament breaks for its summer recess.
Candidates need the support of 10 MPs to get on the ballot, and MPs will then reduce the number of candidates to four, who will address party members at the Conservative conference starting on 29 September.
Subsequently, MPs will further narrow the field to two, with the final winner selected by Conservative Party members through an online ballot, and the result announced on 2 November.
Nominations are due to close next week, and Tory MPs are expected to launch their campaigns in the coming days. Here are those standing, or expected to stand:
James Cleverly
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has become the first party figure to announce they are running for leader after releasing a campaign video on social media on Tuesday evening.
Explaining his decision to stand, he said that the Conservatives “must ditch self-indulgent infighting” and “reconnect” with voters after losing their trust before the general election.
He added that the Tories needed to “re-establish our reputation as the party who, in government, helps grow the economy, helps people achieve their goals, their dreams, and their aspirations”.
He has been MP for Braintree in Essex since 2015 and was appointed as a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party in 2018 under Theresa May. He became the party’s co-leader under Boris Johnson alongside Ben Elliot in 2019, a role he held until 2020.
When Mrs May stood down, he announced he was standing to replace her as leader but withdrew from the race after five days.
Between 2019 and 2022 he held several ministerial posts across the Department for Exiting the EU and the Foreign Office, before briefly serving as education secretary for two months following the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government.
He supported Liz Truss in the race to replace Mr Johnson and was appointed as her foreign secretary, a role he kept when Rishi Sunak came to power.
Following a reshuffle in November 2023, he was moved to become home secretary, and held that post until the general election. He is now shadow Home Secretary in Mr Sunak’s Shadow Cabinet.
Widely considered a centrist candidate, Mr Cleverly faced criticism from right-wing MPs during his time as home secretary for not supporting amendments to the Rwanda legislation that would disapply certain areas of international law.
He was also forced to apologise in December after he made a joke at a Downing Street event about spiking his wife’s drink with date-rape drug Rohypnol.
Bromley and Biggin Hill MP Peter Fortune became the first MP to publicly back Mr Cleverly, saying: “A communicator. A unifier. A leader. I wholeheartedly support his bid for the leadership.”
Declared MP supporters: Peter Fortune, Gagan Mohindra, Simon Hoare
Other supporters: Former Armed Forces minister James Heappey, Tory peer Lord Vaizey
Tom Tugendhat
Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat has announced he is standing in the leadership contest, and opened his campaign by claiming he would be willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Announcing his intention to stand, he said that the Conservatives could win the next election if they rebuilt trust with voters.
“Clever people have already written a million complicated words about why we lost that election, but I can do it in one: trust. We lost the trust of the British people, because we didn’t do what we said we would,” he wrote.
“I am not just running to be the next leader of the Conservative party. I am running to be the next Conservative prime minister. That is what this leadership election is all about: winning.”
Before entering politics, he spent a decade in the Army, during which he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was awarded an MBE in 2010 for his work in the Middle East.
He has been the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent since 2015 and was the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select committee from 2017 until 2022, where he was known for his critical stance on issues such as China’s influence and the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Mr Tugendhat ran for Conservative Party leader in the wake of Boris Johnson’s resignation in 2022 but was eliminated in the third round of voting.
Following her victory, Liz Truss appointed him security minister, and he was kept on by Rishi Sunak following her resignation. He held the post until the general election.
Declared MP supporters: Karen Bradley, Alicia Kearns
Other supporters: Former Tory MP Sir Jake Berry
Kemi Badenoch
Kemi Badenoch is seen as a frontrunner for the leadership job and has considerable popularity among the party membership. Though she is widely expected to run, she has not yet announced her candidacy.
Speaking following her reelection as MP for North West Essex (previously Saffron Walden) she said that the “work starts now” when it came to rebuilding the Conservative Party following its catastrophic defeat at the election.
“Many of my friends and colleagues have lost their seats. They have served their country with distinction, their service will never be in vain, but the public have spoken and they have said loud and clear that the Conservatives have lost their trust,” she said.
Ms Badenoch currently holds the post of shadow Levelling Up Secretary. Before the election she had been business secretary since 2023 and equalities minister since 2022.
She served as international trade secretary under Liz Truss and has also held junior ministerial posts in the Treasury and Department for Education.
Following Boris Johnson’s resignation, she stood in the leadership race to replace him but was eliminated in the fourth round of voting and did not back any other candidates.
She has considerable support on the right of the party and has gained a reputation for her outspoken views on issues including LGBT rights and race relations.
Many pro-Brexit MPs criticised her while she was business secretary, after her department announced it intended to repeal just 800 legacy EU laws from UK statute books despite the government originally pledging to scrap more than 4,000.
Declared MP supporters: Julia Lopez, Alex Burghart
Priti Patel
It is understood that former home secretary Priti Patel is also considering a leadership bid – the first time she will have put her hat in the ring for the top job.
She has been MP for Witham in Essex since 2010 and was appointed employment minister under David Cameron in 2015. A prominent Eurosceptic, she went on to play a significant role in the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum.
Following the referendum, she served as international development secretary from 2016 to 2017 under Theresa May, who she had backed to become leader, but resigned over unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials.
After two years as a backbench MP, she was appointed home secretary by Boris Johnson, whom she had also backed to become leader, in 2019.
Her time in the post was marked by her strong stance on immigration which included launching a points-based visa system and announcing the Rwanda deportation plan.
In 2020, she faced allegations she had bullied staff in three government departments in which she had served, and a Cabinet Office inquiry found she had breached the Ministerial Code. Mr Johnson defended her position following the inquiry, claiming he had “full confidence in her”.
She resigned as home secretary in 2022 ahead of Liz Truss taking office, and went on to back Mr Johnson again in the leadership contest to replace her, although he did not ultimately stand in the race.
Declared MP supporters: Alec Shelbrooke, Greg Smith, Saqib Bhatti
Robert Jenrick
It has been speculated that Robert Jenrick, a former immigration minister, is considering a leadership bid and has garnered support from many on the right wing of the Conservative Party.
He has been MP for Newark in Nottinghamshire since 2014 and was elected to the Health and Social Care Committee shortly after entering Parliament. Mr Jenrick went on to act as parliamentary aide to Esther McVey, Michael Gove, Liz Truss and Amber Rudd, and served on the board of the Conservative Party.
Theresa May appointed him as a Treasury minister in 2018, and in 2019 he became the youngest member of Boris Johnson’s cabinet after being appointed to the post of housing secretary.
During his tenure, he emphasised the need for more housing development and reforms to the planning system. However, his time in this role was not without controversy, notably involving the handling of a planning decision for a housing development project.
Under Liz Truss, he briefly served as a health minister in 2022 before being appointed immigration minister by Rishi Sunak.
He became known for his tough stance on immigration and ultimately resigned from the post at the end of 2023, citing “strong disagreements” with Mr Sunak over his approach to the Rwanda asylum plan.
Mr Jenrick, whose wife is Israeli, is a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel parliamentary group, and has frequently spoken out in support of Israel and raised the issue of anti-Semitism in the UK.
Declared MP supporters: Danny Kruger, Caroline Johnson, Edward Leigh
Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman had been widely tipped as a potential candidate in the Conservative leadership race, but there has been speculation that she may struggle to get the support needed to run.
Before entering politics, Braverman had a successful legal career as a barrister specialising in public law and judicial review.
She was elected MP for Fareham, now called Fareham and Waterlooville, in 2015. She is a prominent Eurosceptic and campaigned for the Vote Leave campaign before becoming the chair of the European Research Group between 2017 and 2018.
In 2018, Theresa May appointed her as a minister in the Department for Exiting the EU, but she resigned 10 months later in protest over the prime minister’s Brexit deal.
After a stint on the backbenches, she was appointed attorney general by Boris Johnson in 2020. In 2021, she became the first-ever Cabinet minister to take maternity leave, and the Maternity Allowances Act was rushed through to facilitate this ahead of her giving birth.
When Mr Johnson resigned, she stood in the leadership contest to replace him but was eliminated in the second round of voting. She stood on a platform of tackling small boat crossings, withdrawing the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights, and getting rid of “woke rubbish”.
Liz Truss appointed her home secretary in 2022, but she was forced to resign after she admitted breaching the Ministerial Code by sending official documents from her personal email address.
Less than a week later, she was reappointed home secretary by Rishi Sunak following Ms Truss’s resignation.
During her tenure, she attracted controversy by referring to homelessness as “a lifestyle choice”, pro-Palestine protests as “hate marches”, and the rise in small boat crossings as an “invasion”.
She was removed from the post in November last year and has remained a backbencher.
Mel Stride
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has indicated he is considering a leadership bid but is yet to confirm that he is running.
Following a business career, he became MP for Central Devon in 2010. Between 2017 and 2019 he held several ministerial posts in the Treasury under Theresa May and had a one-month stint as Commons leader in 2019 following the resignation of Andrea Leadsom.
He returned to the backbench when Boris Johnson became prime minister, and was elected chair of the Treasury Select Committee in 2019, a post he held until 2022.
When Rishi Sunak became prime minister, he was appointed work and pensions secretary and held the post up until the election. Mr Stride has reportedly been urged to stand as a “unity” candidate in the leadership election and is a well-regarded figure in the party known for his strong performance on media rounds.