SKY NEWS -The race to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader has started. With the party now in opposition for the first time since 2010, Tory MPs and members will choose their new leader.
Nominations opened at 7pm on 24 July and closed at 2.30pm on 29 July.
Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat have been confirmed as the six contenders.
Nominees had to have the backing of at least 10 Tory MPs to be on the list, which will be narrowed down to four candidates through a series of hustings when parliament returns from the summer recess on 2 September.
On 4 September, Tory MPs will vote for the final four who will make their case to party members at the Conservative conference this autumn.
Those four will be whittled down to the final two on 10 October by Tory MPs, with the winner chosen by party members through an online ballot on 31 October and announced on 2 November.
Sky News looks at who has thrown their hat into the ring and what they are offering to the party.
Mr Cleverly became the first to officially enter the contest with a post on social media, saying he wanted 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”.
Mr Tugendhat was the second Tory to put himself forward, just moments after nominations opened.
The former security minister is regarded highly among the One Nation group of moderate Tory MPs.
He said the party needs to regain the British people’s trust as the previous government, which he was part of, “just didn’t deliver”.
Mr Tugendhat also said he would consider leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it “doesn’t serve our interests” – a change in his stance seen as appealing to the right of the party.
He previously ran to be Tory leader after Mr Johnson was ousted, but was knocked out of the race early and later threw his support behind Liz Truss.
Mr Tugendhat is notable for his hawkish stance on China, although this became more muted once he entered government.
He remains sanctioned by China, who claims he – along with four other Tories – “maliciously spread lies” about Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
Mr Tugendhat, who held his seat of Tonbridge in Kent, is also a former soldier.
Read more:
Who is your local MP now? Find out here
Who won the popular vote?
Which Tory big beasts have lost their seat?
The former immigration minister was the third to announce he was running after Mr Cleverly and Mr Tugendhat.
Mr Jenrick held several ministerial roles, including communities secretary – a position he lost in one of Mr Johnson’s reshuffles.
He was originally a Sunak loyalist and was appointed immigration minister, partly to keep the more right-wing Suella Braverman in check, according to reports.
However, Mr Jenrick later hit the headlines when he resigned over Mr Sunak’s Rwanda bill, saying he could not continue in his post when he had such “strong disagreements with the direction of the government’s policy on immigration”.
By the election, he too was acting as a voice on the right of the party.
His Newark seat in the East Midlands had been fairly safe in 2019 – but the result was much closer this time.
However, his past actions – like fast-tracking a £1bn housing development proposed by a Tory donor – might come back to bite him.
Mr Stride became the fourth Tory to enter the race, telling Sky News there was a “huge job to do”.
A long-standing ally of Mr Sunak, he was dubbed “the minister for the morning round” during the general election campaign, facing the media more than any of his colleagues.
He served as work and pensions secretary through Mr Sunak’s premiership, and has stayed on to shadow the role on the opposition benches.
Mr Stride said he is the right person to tackle the challenge of regaining the public’s trust and rebuilding the party’s “reputation for competence”.
He also had a spell in the Treasury, both as financial secretary and paymaster general, during Theresa May’s tenure in Number 10, and went on to chair the Treasury Select Committee between 2019 and 2022.
Before entering the Commons, Mr Stride set up Venture Marketing Group, specialising in trade exhibitions and conferences.
The former home secretary was the key torchbearer for the right before she was eclipsed by Ms Braverman following the demise of Mr Johnson.
The dame confirmed she was running on 27 July, making her the fifth to declare – and the first woman.
Dame Priti is seen as one of the more traditional right-wing MPs in the party, compared with her successor Ms Braverman, who holds appeal with some of the Tory MPs elected in 2019.
She has put herself forward as the candidate to reunite the party and insisted “authentic” conservative values such as defending freedom, promoting enterprise, keeping people safe and spreading opportunity remained popular with the public.
Dame Priti has promised members would be rewarded for their loyalty under her leadership with a greater voice in policy and the direction of the party.
Her seat in Witham, Essex, has been one of the safest in the country, and she held it in the election despite a challenge from Labour.
Another key factor is that she remained loyal to Mr Johnson, and was also popular with Tory members.
Ms Badenoch, the ex-business secretary, was the final Tory to announce she was standing.
She is seen as a darling of the right and has impressed some in the party with her no-nonsense approach.
Ms Badenoch has promised to “speak the truth again” and wants to renew the party by 2030 by reconfirming “our belief in the nation state and the sovereign duty it has, above all else, to serve its own citizens”.
She said there must also be a “renewal for capitalism” to revive the economy by supporting the “ingenuity and industry of our people”.
One of her strongest advocates is Michael Gove, the former levelling up secretary who stood down as an MP at the election.
He backed her when she ran in the first Tory leadership contest of 2022 following Mr Johnson’s resignation. She finished fourth out of eight candidates in the first ballot of MPs, before eventually being eliminated in the fourth round of voting.
Ms Badenoch has been outspoken on issues including women’s rights, equality and identity politics.
She held on to her safe seat of Essex North West in the election.
Former home secretary Ms Braverman said she had the support of at least 10 MPs but decided the day before nominations closed to not stand because she said she has been branded “mad, bad and dangerous” by fellow Tories.
She said the party’s disastrous election result was down to failures on migration, taxes and “transgender ideology” but said the party “does not want to hear this. And so I will bow out here”.
Ms Braverman has cultivated a reputation on the right as someone who is not afraid to voice controversial opinions on immigration and law and order.
She was brought in by Mr Sunak to cater to the right of the party as home secretary, where she commanded support.
Her sacking in November 2023 – following comments that homelessness was a “lifestyle choice” – may have affected her standing among Tory MPs.
However, her hardline stance on immigration went down well with parts of the party membership.
She held her Fareham and Waterlooville seat despite a challenge from the Liberal Democrats.
Who should lead the Tories?
Before the election, Ms Braverman called for the Tories to work with Reform UK – and said the Conservatives should welcome Nigel Farage to the party.
Speaking after her re-election, she apologised and said her party “didn’t listen” to the country.
“The country deserves better and we’ve got to do better and I will do everything in my power to rebuild trust. We need to listen to you – you have spoken to us very clearly,” she added.
