Who Replaces Rishi Sunak? Here Are The Leading Runners And Riders

Conservative candidates have until Monday to get the backing of enough MPs to stand in the leadership contest, following the party's most devastating election loss in two centuries.

The threshold to appear on the ballot is significantly lower than during the last leadership election in 2022, when candidates needed the backing of 100 MPs. In that race, Rishi Sunak was the sole contender after Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew.

The prospective candidates are fighting for the support of 121 Conservative MPs in the House of Commons. But party whips and members of the 1922 Committee are not allowed to nominate and openly support a candidate due to internal rules.

The numbers will be whittled down to four which will be given the chance to speak to members at Conservative Party conference between 29 September and 2 October. Details of how and when each candidate will speak is yet to be agreed. 

Kemi Badenoch

Badenoch, 44, was elected to Parliament in 2017 and has served as a minister under Boris Johnson and a cabinet minister under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. The MP for North West Essex clung on to a seat at the general election with a reduced majority of 2,610. 

The former cabinet minister is the bookmakers' favourite to replace Sunak as Conservative Party leader in November. While she is still yet to declare, her leadership pitch will aim to heal the divisions between the right and left of the party. Her priorities are likely to focus on free markets, free speech and tackling gender ideology in schools. Badenoch often draws on her intellectual influences in interviews in speeches, including free market economist Thomas Sowell and one of her favourite books Why Nations Fail. 

When Badenoch first ran for Tory leader in 2022