Candidates swell, roll out plans as new British Prime Minister emerges September 5

The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will be announced on September 5, 2022, with the first votes to begin eliminating candidates in the crowded, unpredictable, and divisive race to replace Boris Johnson expected this week.

So far, 11 candidates have entered the race to succeed Johnson as leader of the ruling Conservative Party and prime minister after he resigned following a dramatic rebellion by his own lawmakers and ministers following a series of scandals.

The 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, which organises the leadership election, stated that candidates would need at least 20 nominations from the party’s 358 lawmakers to even advance to the first round of voting on Wednesday.

Anyone who received less than 30 votes at that point will be eliminated before another vote on Thursday. To gain the support of their colleagues, nearly all of the candidates have promised substantial tax cuts.

“I am very keen that we finish this as smoothly, cleanly, and quickly as possible,” said Graham Brady, chair of the committee.

Legislators will narrow the field to two candidates before a postal ballot of the Conservative Party’s 200,000 members takes place over the summer.

According to a poll conducted on Monday for the Conservative Home website, former defence minister Penny Mordaunt was the most popular among members, followed by equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and Rishi Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister helped bring Johnson down.

“There appears to be a large field right now, a lively contest,” Brady said. “I’m hoping for a very constructive contest, but also a really good opportunity for a proper, healthy, constructive debate about the Conservative Party’s future direction.”

The battle for the top job follows one of the most tumultuous periods in modern British political history, in which more than 50 government ministers and aides resigned, criticising Johnson’s character, integrity, and inability to tell the truth.

The new leader will also have to rebuild the Conservative Party’s dwindling support.

According to a Savanta ComRes poll released on Monday, the opposition Labour Party has 43 percent of the vote to the Conservatives’ 28 percent, its largest poll lead since 2013.

The succession battle is already personal.

Another candidate, former finance minister Sajid Javid, slammed what he called “poisonous gossip” and “attack memos” delivered by some colleagues over the weekend.