What are the next steps after the announcement of Boris Johnson’s departure?
The British Prime Minister announced that he was leaving the head of the Conservative Party but that he would remain Prime Minister until his successor was appointed, without specifying a timetable. In the morning, the British media mentioned the deadline for October and the Conservative Party congress.
The party must therefore find a new leader. It is up to the 1922 Committee, a committee of elected Conservatives, which oversees the election of the party leader, to set the timetable. All Conservative MPs can run for party leadership. Candidates need the support of eight MPs to contest the election. Several elimination rounds are linked until there are only two candidates left. Only Conservative MPs can vote in this first phase. The last two candidates are then decided by a postal vote of all party members – around 180,000 people across the country. The winner of the vote will become both leader of the Conservatives and prime minister.
The list of likely candidates is already provided and growing. Among them, the recently resigned head of the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, his successor in this position, Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss, the Attorney General, Suella Braverman, or even the Secretary of State for defense, Ben Wallace.
In the meantime, Boris Johnson remains in power and appointed a new government this morning. His predecessor, Theresa May, remained in office for more than a month between the announcement of her resignation and the election of Mr Johnson as the new Conservative leader. Many Tories, however, spoke out on Thursday to call for a replacement ” immediate “ of the prime minister by an interim head of government. “For the welfare of the country, Mr Johnson must not stay in Downing Street (…) longer than necessary to effect a smooth change of government”said John Major, Conservative Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, in a letter addressed to the head of the 1922 Committee. The name of Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister, has been mentioned several times to ensure the interim.
