The race to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader has officially kicked off, with candidates finally starting to announce their campaigns.
With just 121 MPs returned to Westminster after a brutal election defeat, the options for members are far more limited than they would have imagined even just six months ago.
Under the rules, Tory MPs hold numerous ballots to eliminate candidates, until they are whittled down to two who then compete for support from the membership.
Under plans drawn up by the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and the party board, nominations opened on Wednesday evening and close in the afternoon on July 29.
The parliamentary party will then narrow the field down to four, who will make their case at the Conservative Party Conference, which runs from September 29 to October 2.
The final two, picked by the parliamentary party, will then be voted on by Conservative Party members in an online ballot that will close on October 31. The result will be announced on November 2.
Bob Blackman, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said he was determined the leadership debate will be “respectful and thorough” and warned against the contest descending into “personal attacks”.
Mr Sunak, who will remain acting leader until a successor is appointed, has given his backing to the plans and said a “smooth and orderly transition” is in the “national interest”.
Here is who expected to run, and whether or not they are likely to have a chance of becoming Conservative leader.
5. Suella Braverman
Once a favourite to replace Mr Sunak, Ms Braverman’s stock has fallen dramatically in the past year, with rumours that she could even defect to Reform. The greatest damage to her chances was done at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington DC, where Ms Braverman claimed the Pride Progress flag being flown over the Home Office was “monstrous”, and that the government had “presided over the mutilation of children”. Her comments enraged many Tory MPs, while her leadership rival Ms Badenoch told cabinet Ms Braverman was having a “very public breakdown”. Any bid from Ms Braverman will focus on the right of the party, with her warning this week that the Tories risk becoming “fanatical, irrelevant, centrist cranks”. Ladbrokes odds: 25/1 Photo: Victoria Jones
6. Robert Jenrick
Another candidate from the right of the party, the former immigration minister is best known for ordering a children’s mural to be painted over at a detention centre. Mr Jenrick recently wrote an article where he said the Conservative party is the “natural home for Reform voters”, and previously claimed the Tories “betrayed the promise of Brexit,” argued that UK must free itself from “activist judges” by withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, and described illegal immigration as a “national security emergency”. He's already been backed by Tory MP Danny Kruger, who claimed Mr Jenrick would win back votes from Reform. Ladbrokes odds: 7/2 Photo: Jordan Pettitt
7. Mel Stride
Former Cabinet minister Mel Stride has announced he is considering running after “a number of colleagues” urged him to stand. The shadow work and pensions secretary, one of Mr Sunak’s closest allies, said launching a leadership bid is “certainly a possibility”. The Central Devon MP is viewed as a safe pair of hands within the party and was frequently sent out to tour broadcast studios to defend Mr Sunak’s leadership during the disastrous general election campaign. Asked whether he would throw his hat in the ring, he told Times Radio: “It’s something I’m considering. “A number of colleagues have approached me and suggested that I might do that. “We don’t yet of course know what the actual rules of the process will be – and I’ll want to wait to see that before I take a final decision – but it’s certainly a possibility.” He argued against “ideological labels” when pressed on whether he would seek to prevent a rightward shift in the party, but added: “I want us to have that One Nation tradition.” Ladbrokes odds: 28/1 Photo: Jordan Pettitt