The Conservative Party has begun selecting a new leader after Boris Johnson’s dramatic resignation.
But how exactly does the competition work?
Here are the key dates and stages in the race to number 10.
tuesday 12 july: Open and close nominations. To run for office, a candidate needs the support of at least 20 MPs, making it more difficult for some of the lesser-known contenders to get on the ballot.
Eleven candidates indicated that they intend to go for the top position. That was reduced to eight when the nominations closed: Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi.
The eight candidates will go to the first vote of the Tory MPs on Wednesday
† Getty ImagesWednesday 13 July: First vote between 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm, the result will be announced at 5 pm. Candidates need a minimum of 30 votes to advance to the next round.
The previous Tory leadership contest in 2019, with 10 candidates, saw an initial vote threshold of just 17 votes required, with the increased number this time perhaps reflecting a desire to narrow down contenders more quickly.
Thursday 14 July: Second vote. A second vote will follow on Thursday, with candidates expected to have at least 40 votes to survive. The results are expected at 3 p.m. More votes will be held next week until the list of candidates is narrowed down to the last two – who will then move on to a vote by mail of party members.
Bob Blackman, co-executive secretary of the 1922 committee, said the aim was to keep the contest to a final two before the start of the MPs’ summer break.
He told Sky News: “We need to get the list of candidates down to two pretty soon.
“And all we want to do is make sure we have two candidates on Thursday, July 21.
“That means we’ll be holding a succession of votes over the next few days to get into that position.”
sunday july 17: First debate. ITV will hold the first Tory leadership debate at 7pm.
Monday 18 July: Second debate. Sky News is scheduled to host another debate the following evening, hosted by Kay Burley.
From Friday 22 July: Hustings will take place across the country over the summer to help party members determine their choice of the new Conservative leader.
Mr Blackman said it is a “condition for nomination” for candidates to agree to contest the vote of party members if they reach the final two.
This is to avoid a situation like in 2016, when Dame Andrea Leadsom dropped out and handed over the leadership undisputedly to Theresa May before party members got the chance to vote.
Monday September 5: New Conservative leader announced. The new prime minister will be announced on September 5 when MPs return to Westminster of their summer vacation.