 "Who will succeed Rishi Sunak as leader of UK's Conservative Party?")
On July 5, Rishi Sunak resigned as leader of the Conservative Party after curtains were drawn on Tory’s 14 years rule following the landslide victory of Labour Party in the 2024 UK elections.
Sunak was dethroned from Britain’s prime ministerial post by Labour Party’s Keir Starmer.
The process to pick Sunak’s successor and the next Conservative party leader began soon after. It has lately started gaining momentum.
After much jostling, six former ministers were finalised to race for taking the baton of Tory Party. However, after two votes by party lawmakers, Priti Patel and Mel Stride have been knocked out of the contest.
Final 4 candidates for Conservative leadership
The final four candidates, who will now make their pitch to the members to become the Conservative leader at the party’s conference in Birmingham, are:
1 - Robert Jenrick, a former immigration minister - the frontrunner
2 - James Cleverly, a former home and foreign secretary
3 - Kemi Badenoch, a former business secretary
4 - Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister
When will the new Conservative leader be elected?
There will be a series of ballots during which the Conservative MPs will pick the final two by mid-October. The ultimate winner will be announced on November 2.
A look into top 4 candidates for Tory leadership
Robert Jenrick
With 33 votes in the ballot on Tuesday (September 10), Robert Jenrick, former immigration minister, topped the second round and is the frontrunner for the Tory leadership post.
Impact Shorts
View AllJenrick also came topped in the first round.
Considered to be a close ally of Sunak, Jenrick is known for his role as immigration minister that lasted for about an year before he resigned saying Sunak’s emergency Rwanda legislation did not go far enough.
Jenrick began his political journey as a centrist figure but soon reinvented himself as a right winger. He made his debut into politics in 2014 as the Newark MP.
Since quitting from immigration minister post in the Sunak-led government, Jenrick has been outspoken about what he sees as failure of the Conservative party to deliver on its promises to cut immigration when it was in power.
Jenrick has also been at the forefront of demanding for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. The former minister said he had been “pushing for the strongest possible” bill that would put “national interests above highly contested interpretations of international law”.
This worked in Jenrick’s favour as he garnered support from MPs previously loyal to Sunak.
The 42-year-old father of three has previously served as a corporate lawyer and a director of auction house Christie’s before making his debut in politics.
He has been embroiled in a number of controversies. Back in 2020, Jenrick, as housing secretary, got into controversy over his decision to grant planning permission for a housing development in east London linked to a Tory donor.
Last year, Jenrick grabbed headlines once again for ordering that murals of cartoon characters at a reception centre for child asylum seekers in Dover be painted over.
In August this year, Jenrick stirred uproar over his remarks that people shouting “Allahu Akbar” on London streets “should be arrested immediately”.
Jenrick believes that the Conservative party needs to confront hard truths and only he can make the changes that can help it win the next election.
Former home secretary, James Cleverly, garnered 21 votes in the second round held on Tuesday. His performance was unchanged from the first round, giving rise to speculations that his momentum has restricted or stalled.
Cleverly, who has been an MP since 2015, is seen as being on the “moderate” wing of the Conservative Party. He has also served as foreign secretary.
Before getting into politics, Cleverly worked in a magazine and digital publishing and later had set up his own company.
Born and raised in south London, 55-year-old father-of-two, Cleverly got embroiled into controversy last year for allegedly making a derogatory remark about Stockton-on-Tees in the Commons.
He later apologised for joking about spiking his wife’s drink at a Downing Street reception.
Previously in interaction with Huffington Post, Cleverly admitted that his biggest fault was: “I talk too much and sometimes I speak a bit too frankly, which I think people like until they don’t like it.”
Making his pitch for the leadership, Cleverly has spoken of his desire to “unite” the Conservatives and has also urged the party to “think and act like Conservatives again”.
Kemi Badenoch
In the ballot on Tuesday, Kemi Badenoch, a former business secretary, bagged 28 votes to seal second spot in the Conservative party leadership race.
Born in London Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke was raised in Nigeria. She returned to the UK to study when she was 16.
In 2017, she entered the UK parliament as Tory MP for Saffron Walden in 2017 under her married name Badenoch.
Before diving into politics, the 44-year-old mother of three worked in banking and IT.
Badenoch has held a number of ministerial portfolios under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak led governments in the UK.
This is, however, not the first time Badenoch is eyeing for the Tory leadership post. Back in 2022, she ran for Conservative leader following the resignation of Boris Johnson and came fourth.
In her latest bid to become the Conservative leader, Badenoch said that the party needed to “stop acting like Labour” to win back power.
Tom Tugendhat
Former security minister Tom Tugendhat bagged 21 votes in the second ballot on September 10.
Tugendhat, who is widely considered as centrist, was elected in the UK parliament in 2015. Before entering into politics, he has served as an officer in the Territorial Army in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Several MPs from the One Nation group of liberal Tories have been backing Tugendhat and Cleverly.
A couple of years ago, Tugendhat had contested for the Tory leadership but Liz Truss emerged as the winner.
The 51-year-old leader is known for seeking to boost his credentials with right wing MPs by taking a hard line on immigration.
In his leadership campaign launch, Tugendhat pledged to cap the UK’s net migration at 100,000 a year and hinted at exiting the European Convention on Human Rights if he is voted to power.
He has also pledged to “make the Conservative Party a serious force again”.
In 2016, Tugendhat, a father of two, had voted ‘Remain’ in the Brexit referendum.
 "Zelenskyy calls Alaska summit ‘personal victory’ for Putin, says it delays sanctions, ends Russian leader's isolation")
 "National Guard moves into DC as Trump’s law-and-order push sparks backlash from mayors")
 "Perplexity offers $34.5bn for Google’s Chrome in bid to challenge search dominance")
 "Foreign ministers of 25 countries urge Israel to let aid into Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens")
 "Zelenskyy calls Alaska summit ‘personal victory’ for Putin, says it delays sanctions, ends Russian leader's isolation")
 "National Guard moves into DC as Trump’s law-and-order push sparks backlash from mayors")
 "Perplexity offers $34.5bn for Google’s Chrome in bid to challenge search dominance")
 "Foreign ministers of 25 countries urge Israel to let aid into Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens")
