Is Britian ready to elect her first non-caucasian Prime Minister?
Will Hon Rishi Sunak be pushed aside by the Tory MPs to make way for whoever is in the running to replace him?
After all Sunak become Prime Minister of the Britain not by vote of British public nor British Parliament but by 2 Tory MP’s pulling out of the race where he stood unopposed.
As the dust settled from the votes, even arch-Sunak critic Suella Braverman said that “changing leader now won’t work”.
But pressure remains on the prime minister from within his party as they remain roughly 20 points adrift of Labour in the national polling.
Tory MPs could get rid of the PM and – if they are successful – who would likely be in the running to replace him.
The process of removing a Tory leader is governed by the 1922 Committee – also known as the ’22 – a group of backbench Tory MPs.
If a Conservative MP wants a new leader, they write to the head of the ’22 saying they have no confidence in the incumbent.
Should the Tory MPs vote to unseat Mr Sunak, majority say they have no confidence in him (50% +1) a leadership contest is triggered.
Mr Sunak would be barred from standing in the subsequent contest.
However, if the leader wins a vote of no confidence, they are then immune from a further such challenge for a year.
Boris Johnson also survived a confidence vote of Tory MPs in June 2022, but emerged from the ordeal weakened as a significant number of Conservatives (148, 41%) voted against him.
He announced his resignation a little more than a month later.
Are there any other circumstances in which the PM could go?
Another way Mr Sunak could be ousted is if the so-called “men in grey suits” tell him to step aside and he heeds their advice.
This is when senior Conservative MPs – like Sir Graham – tell the party leader they do not have the support of the party, and should step aside to save the ignominy of the above votes.
Of course, Mr Sunak could decide himself that the game is up and opt to jump before he is potentially pushed, but this is unlikely.
The exact rules for the contest would be set out by the ’22 after it is triggered.
Nominations for candidates would likely open quickly, with prospective leaders needing the support of a certain number of colleagues to stand.
Once nominations have closed, there would then be rounds of voting among Tory MPs for their preferred new leader. The worst-performing candidate in each ballot would be eliminated, until just two remain.
This pair would then compete for the votes of Conservative Party members, slugging it out to become party leader and prime minister.
This is what happened in the summer of 2022, when Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were left as the last two candidates in the race to succeed Mr Johnson.
Under our parliamentary system, the prime minister is leader of the largest party in the Commons.
If the Tories decide to get rid of Sunak and replace him, there is no legal obligation upon the party or the new leader to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate straight away.
Who is likely to be in the running to succeed Sunak if he goes?
Source: ET
Article partly sourced from: Sky News
