Liz Truss has announced her resignation as prime minister after just six weeks in office.
The search for a new Conservative Party leader is now underway, with her successor expected to become the third prime minister this year.
Nominations for Conservative MPs to elect a new leader are now open and will close at 2pm on Monday 24 October.
To be considered for the position, candidates are required to have at least 100 nominations, a sizeable jump from just the 20 needed in the leadership contest over the summer.
With 357 Tory MPs being able to vote, the maximum number of candidates that will be able to progress is three.
Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are widely considered to be the frontrunners in the contest.
None of them have formally declared to run but MPs have been vocal about their support for their preferred candidates on social media.
Among Johnson’s prominent supporters are Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, while Dominic Raab has backed Sunak.
Raab said: “I back Rishi Sunak to be our next PM. He has the plan and credibility to restore financial stability,and unite the Conservatives by bringing the best talent into Government to deliver for the British people.”
If only one candidate manages to reach the 100 nomination milestone by the deadline on Monday, they will automatically become the new party leader and prime minister.
If there are two candidates, an indicative vote will follow on the same day between 6.30pm and 8.30pm with the results being announced at 9pm.
The winner will be officially declared by Friday 28 October and whoever wins the contest will be asked by the King to form a government in his name, assuming the title of the UK’s next prime minister.
Featured image credit: Number 10 @Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
