RACE TO PM
Exact date Britain’s next Prime Minister will be appointed – as full timetable revealed
BRITAIN'S next Prime Minister will be revealed on September 5, Tory chiefs announced tonight.
Boris Johnson will then leave No10 that week in a transfer of power to his successor - just three years and a month after taking over himself.
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Party bosses on the ruling 1922 executive formally fired the starting gun on the race to be the next Conservative leader.
Chairman Sir Graham Brady laid out a timetable to whittle down the 11-strong crowded field of wannabe PMs to just two by the end of July.
The top two will then be put through rounds of hustings before a full vote of party members on September 5 when Parliament returns.
The first round of MP votes will be on Wednesday, and the second vote will be on Thursday.
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Candidates will need at least 30 votes to get into the second round of voting.
The newly-elected executive committee met tonight to finalise the rules before nominations open tomorrow.
In key developments:
- Nadhim Zahawi pledged a whopping tax cuts bonanza
- Sajid Javid also vowed to give away £40bn in tax cuts if he wins
- Priti Patel was mulling making a last-gasp bid for the top job
- Boris Johnson refused to row behind any of the candidates
Rishi Sunak is the early runaway frontrunner and has racked up 37 colleagues to back his No10 bid.
Penny Mordaunt is hot on his heels with 22, and Tom Tugendhat not far behind.
TORY LEADERSHIP RACE - TIMETABLE
HOW does the Tory leadership timetable work?
TUESDAY JULY 12
Nominations open for the next Tory leader. Candidates need at least 20 Conservative MP supporters by 6pm to make the ballot.
WEDNESDSAY JULY 13
Tory MPs vote for their preferred candidate in the first round. Anyone with less than 30 votes is eliminated.
THURSDAY JULY 14
The second round of voting takes place, with the last placed candidate eliminated. Voting will continue until the final two candidates are left.
SUMMER RECESS
The top two candidates will tour the country at rounds of hustings. The 100,000 or so Tory party members will then vote on their next leader.
SEPTEMBER 5
The results will be announced and Britain's next Prime Minister will be revealed.
Liz Truss, Nadhim Zahawi, Sajid Javid, Kemi Badenoch, Jeremy Hunt, Suella Braverman and Grant Shapps are also in the running.
Mr Zahawi today unveiled a tax cuts bonanza that he claims will save squeezed families £900.
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The Chancellor pledged to shave a penny off the 20p income tax basic rate next year and take it down to 18p in 2024.
He also vowed to wipe VAT and green levies off energy bills for two years if elected to help Brits with soaring fuel prices.
And he said that since moving to the Treasury five days ago he is already looking to scrap the planned corporation tax rise.
He said: "Let me be clear. Tax as a percentage of GDP will fall year on year if I become prime minister. That is a promise."
The Tory big beast has said he will pay for the swingeing tax cuts by slashing government spending by 20 per cent.
But in a dramatic twist, Penny Mordaunt topped a poll by ConservativeHome of party members - with one in five backing the Trade Minister.
She pipped Kemi Badenoch who won the backing of 19 per cent, with Mr Sunak lagging behind in fourth with 12 per cent.
Brexiteer Suella Braverman and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss trailed on 10 per cent.
And Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and ex-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt came in at 7th and 8th place in an embarrassing blow for their hopes of getting the keys to No10.
But senior Tories warned the race was wide this evening, with a fresh warning the battle was collapsing into a Game of Thrones style bloodbath.
Ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the party faces “electoral oblivion" if they do not change, as he urged colleagues to "pull together".
"I'm sorry to say that, looking at some of the stories in the weekend press, it's not been our best start," Mr Javid said during his official launch speech.
"Poisonous gossip, attack memos, allegations thrown around.
"This isn't House Of Cards or Game Of Thrones. And the people who are here just because they enjoy the game are in the wrong place."
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But Javid also took aim at Boris Johnson’s judgement, questioning his decision to hire livewire ex-aide Domimic Cummings, saying: “I think there are lessons to learn about the kind of person that makes a good Chief of Staff.”
On Monday Mr Johnson insisted he would not back a candidate to avoid "damaging their chances" of winning by offering his support.
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