About:
- Since the Conservative party has a majority in the current U.K. parliament, the winner of the party leadership contest will automatically become prime minister.
How is the new Conservative leader selected?
- Under usual circumstances, British prime ministers are chosen in a general election held every five years.
- Instead of voting for the nation’s leader directly, as is the case in presidential electoral systems, the public chooses between delegates of each party to represent their local area, known as a constituency.
- The party that wins the most constituencies wins the election, and the leader of that party typically becomes the prime minister.
- Party leaders are chosen by an internal process normally in advance of a general election, or in the case that a leader steps down or is forced out.
- To take part in the race, a Conservative member of parliament needs to be nominated by at least 20 colleagues.
- First, MPs whittle the candidates down in a series of secret ballots, whereby the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated at each round until two are remaining.
- In the second stage, card-carrying grassroots party members vote on the final two candidates.
