The contest to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader has officially begun, as Tories are gradually started to put themselves forward.
After enduring a historic defeat in the general election and walking away with just 121 seats in total, former PM Sunak said he was stepping back from the helm of the party when his successor was chosen.
As the fight for the soul of the party begins, it remains to be seen whether it will end up going for a more centrist figure, or leaning further right.
Here’s who has officially announced their leadership bids, who is expected to – and how long this whole competition is going to go on for...
1. James Cleverly
The former home secretary (who now shadows the same role) announced his plan to run on Tuesday, a day before nominations actually opened.
Seen as a moderate within the Conservative ranks, he has said the Conservatives need to “re-establish our reputation as the party who, in government, helps grow the economy, helps people achieve their goals, their dream and their aspirations”.
Alluding to the party’s historic loss at the ballot box, he said: “We must ditch the self-indulgent infighting and be ready to deliver when the next chance comes.”
According to a Savanta poll shared with Sky News, Cleverly has a net favourability of -9 with the general public.
He held several ministerial jobs under Boris Johnson before being appointed as the education secretary at the end of the ex-PM’s premiership.
He was foreign secretary for both Liz Truss and Sunak, and home secretary from November 2023 and July 2024.
2. Tom Tugendhat
Formerly the security minister, Tugendhat now shadows the same role on the other side of the House.
Although he launched his campaign with a bang by saying he would consider leaving the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), he is usually perceived as a moderate in the one nation wing of the party.
He argued in an article for The Telegraph that he would prepared to leave the ECHR if institutions make it harder to control the country’s borders, claiming this was a “common sense Conservative position” to take.
The former army officer suggested defence spending should be pulled up to 3% of GDP, and claimed he was running “to be the next Conservative prime minister”.
He ran in the last leadership race in 2022, but was knocked out and chose to support Liz Truss instead.
He also chaired the foreign affairs select committee from 2017 to 2022.
According to the Savanta poll, he has a net favourability of -3, making him the most popular contender with the public so far.
However, party members historically to choose the more rightwing candidates.
3. Robert Jenrick
The former immigration and health minister – and one-time housing secretary – is on the right of the party.
A former ally of Sunak, he dramatically resigned from his cabinet in December claiming the Rwanda plan to deport illegal asylum seekers was not a strong enough deterrent.
He is expected to try and appeal to Tory members more sympathetic to Reform UK.
His campaign manager, Tory MP Danny Kruger, said Jenrick has the “energy, temperament and policy agenda to take on our rivals and lead us back to power in five years.”
He was not included in the Savanta poll because he did not run in the last leadership election in 2022.
4. Mel Stride
Mel Stride, shadow work and pensions secretary, confirmed he had enough MPs backing him to put himself forward on Friday morning.
A close ally to Sunak, Stride was a prominent figure in the last days of the previous government, but he only held onto his seat by a very narrow margin of just 61 votes.
He has acknowledged his party made errors particularly during their election campaign and claimed it is in “acute crisis” now.
However, Stride said he thinks he has what it takes to unite the Conservatives, wanting it to have “broad appeal” rather than lurching to the right.
Stride has held multiple ministerial roles over the years, including leader of the House of Commons and financial secretary to the Treasury.
5. Priti Patel
The former home secretary was the first woman to enter the race, writing on social media: “I can lead us in opposition and unite our party and get us match fit for the next election, with unity, experience and strength.”
Seen to be on the right of the party, Patel said the Tories cannot led “a soap opera of finger-pointing and self-indulgence” distract from winning the next general election.
She also claimed that she would grant members a greater voice in policy and the party direction if elected.
Patel was the home secretary for Boris Johnson’s whole premiership. She launched the Rwanda scheme and strengthened police powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
She resigned as home secretary in September 2022 when Liz Truss was elected as the new PM, and remained a backbencher.
Johnson awarded her a damehood in his resignation honours last year.
Patel was also found to have breached the ministerial code “unintentionally” in her behaviour to civil servants, which the government’s independent advisor on standards said could have been described as “bullying” at times.
6. Kemi Badenoch
The former business secretary, who is now the shadow housing, communities and local government secretary, joined the leadership race on Sunday evening.
The bookies’ favourite to replace Sunak, Badenoch vowed to renew the Tory brand, claiming that capitalism is not a “dirty word” while also making a case for leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
Writing for The Times, she said: “If I have the privilege to serve, we will speak the truth again. That is why my campaign is launching with an explicit focus on renewing our party for 2030 – the first full year we can be back in government and the first year of a new decade.”
Badenoch, a keen Brexiter, rose to prominence as the woman and equalities minister in 2021, known for her controversial take on trans rights.
Seen to be on the right of the party, she was the international trade secretary under both Sunak and Liz Truss, and held multiple junior ministerial roles under Boris Johnson.
Who else is expected to run?
Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins was expected to run, but she said she would not be in a social media post.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman announced that she was not putting herself forward on Sunday evening even though she supposedly had 10 MPs backing her, the minimum needed to enter the race.
The right-wing MP claimed the “traumatised” party did not want to listen to her assessment on their historic election loss, adding: “I’ve been branded mad, bad and dangerous.”
It was thought many MPs who would have supported Braverman switched to backing Jenrick in recent days.
How will the process work?
The nominations for the candidates opened on July 24.
Each candidate needs to secure backing from 10 other MPs by July 29 to make it to the next round.
But, only around 100 MPs will be able to support a chosen candidate.
That’s because MPs who are whips or who sit on the executive backbencher 1922 committee cannot support a candidate.
It means only 10 Tories – at most – will be able to move to progress past this point in the race.
If two or more candidates get through, a campaign will take place throughout the summer.
In September, MPs cast their votes on the remaining candidates.
The four with the most votes will be selected, and all offered a chance to speak at the Tory party conference, (from September 29 to October 2), and MPs will vote again.
The two with the most vote go through to the next hurdle.
The remaining pair will then have to go before the party members, who will vote on their favourite candidate in an online ballot which closes on October 31.
To vote, members must have been “active” when the whole contest opened in July, and been members for at least 90 days before the ballot closes.
The new leader and official leader of the opposition will be confirmed on November 2, and Sunak’s time leading the Conservatives will officially end.
They will become the sixth leader of the Tory Party since 2016.