The British Conservative Party joins a battle between its different sensibilities to decide who, in a wide range of candidates, will succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the formation and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
With the declaration of the former Economy Minister Rishi Sunak and the Minister of Transportation, Grant Shapps, to present themselves as candidates to replace Johnson, there are five deputies who have expressed their aspirations, ahead of the primaries that will begin next week.
Sunak, one of the favorites to take over the leadership of the party in power, has already prepared his campaign with the broadcast of a promotional video and a team of collaborators who help him.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport said from the pages of “Sunday Times” that, if elected, he will prepare an emergency budget to deal with inflation, which includes tax cuts and aid for companies with high energy consumption.
Likewise, the former Secretary of State for Equalities Kemi Badenoch presented her candidacy this Saturday through the pages of the newspaper “The Times”, in which she stated that she is looking for a “strong” government but focused on the “essential” issues that the country needs to.
The other deputies who have indicated that they will appear are the chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee of the House of Commons, Tom Tugendhat, and the attorney general, Suella Braverman.
In the coming days, “heavyweights” of the formation are expected to announce their aspirations, after Johnson announced his resignation last Thursday due to the barrage of resignations -of more than 50 members of the Government- in protest at his management.
Potential candidates include former Health Minister Sajid Javid; the current foreign minister, Liz Truss, and MP Jeremy Hunt, while Defense Minister Ben Wallace ruled out his aspiration after “careful consideration.”
The process is in charge of the so-called 1922 Committee
Next Monday, the influential 1922 Committee, which brings together conservative deputies without portfolio, will elect its executive and will announce the calendar to elect the new leader.
The continuity of Johnson in the Government while these primaries take place has generated concern among the opposition parties, who demand his immediate departure.
The political expert from Trinity College of the University of Oxford Stephen Fisher told Efe that “this depends” on what the conservative deputies decide since, in his opinion, Labor does not seem to insist on presenting a motion of censure in Parliament to force Johnson out without delay.
The rules for electing the conservative leader
Under current regulations, candidates for the post must state their intention to replace Johnson provided they have the backing of at least eight Conservative MPs.
From then on, several rounds of voting will begin among the “Tory” deputies, while Johnson continues to head the UK Government to avoid a power vacuum.
In the first ballot, the candidates who obtain 5% of the vote (18 parliamentarians) will be able to go on to the second round. In this second vote, the candidates must receive the support of 10% of the deputies (36) to go to the next one.
Thus, the candidates with the least number of votes will be eliminated in voting until there are two left, who will submit to the approval of all the members of the party and the “Tory” deputies.
When a prime minister resigns in the United Kingdom, a general election is not held, but a process is opened to elect a new leader from the party that is in power.
The next elections – from which, according to Fisher, a Parliament without a majority will emerge – are scheduled for January 2024 at the latest.
Andrew Mycock, Professor of Politics at the English University of Huddersfield, also told Efe that a Parliament without a majority could come out of the next elections, since the “Tories” have to “repair the significant damage that Johnson has caused in the last two years. ”, while Labor leader Keir Starmer has yet to win back the support of many of his former Labor voters. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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