Candidates need 100 backers to enter race to be next Tory leader and Prime Minister

Candidates to replace Liz Truss as Conservative leader will need at least 100 nominations from MPs, it has been confirmed.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, stated that nominations will close at 2pm on Monday.

It sets a high bar for those seeking to win the contest and is in contrast to the summer election during which candidates only needed 20 named Conservative MPs to back them in order to enter the contest.

Jake Berry, the chairman of the Conservative Party, stated that if the party decides to put forward two candidates, an expedited, binding, online vote of members will take place to choose the next leader.

With 357 Conservative MPs in the House of Commons, there could be a maximum of three candidates.

But whether enough MPs can coalesce around even one hopeful remains up in the air.

It could be the first time that a prime minister of the UK is chosen in an online only ballot – this comes with security concerns.

Liz Truss was elected with a mixture of online and paper ballots amid warnings from security experts that the technology was not proven for such high-stakes use.

The contest was triggered following her resignation on Thursday.

Who could replace Liz Truss?

Rishi Sunak: The former chancellor made it to the final two of the Conservative leadership contest with Truss.

One of the key points of contention between the candidates was over taxes, with Sunak wanting to go ahead with a planned increase of corporation tax to 25%, while Truss wanted to keep it at 19%.

Sunak, however, is unlikely to be viewed as someone who can unite the party, having moved against Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson: The MP for Uxbridge resigned as prime minister after mass resignations from his Cabinet earlier this year.

He served in No 10 during the coronavirus pandemic and as the UK left the EU, however he caused public anger over his role in partygate in breaking lockdown rules.

Penny Mordaunt: Currently the Commons leader, Mordaunt ran in the 2022 leadership race, later turning to back Truss after she was eliminated from the contest.

Mordaunt stood in for Truss in the Commons this week after the sacking of Kwarteng as chancellor.

She told MPs on Monday: “I fully understand the optics of me appearing at the despatch box.”