Oris Johnson’s successor to be announced on September 5 with Tory MPs to begin voting for a new leader on Wednesday.
Here is a timetable for the leadership contest.
– Tuesday 12 July: Opening and closing nominations. To run for office, a candidate needs the support of at least 20 MPs, making it harder for some of the lesser-known contenders to get on the ballot.
On Monday evening, 11 candidates announced their intention to run for the top position.
– Wednesday 13 July: First vote. Any candidate who fails to get at least 30 votes is expected to drop out.
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 be held on Thursday and 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 commission, said the aim was to keep the contest down 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 21st July.
“That means we’ll be holding a succession of votes over the next few days to get into that position.”
– Sunday 17 July: First debate. ITV will hold the first Tory leadership debate at 7pm.
– Monday, July 18: Second debate. Sky News is scheduled to host another debate the following evening, hosted by Kay Burley.
– Friday, July 22 and beyond: Hustings will take place across the country throughout 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.