July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election

British leadership election to replace Boris Johnson

The July - September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was to elect Boris Johnson's successor as leader of the Conservative Party. After the government crisis Johnson announced his resignation on 7 July 2022.[1] The election was held between 12 July 2022 and 5 September 2022. Liz Truss won and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
← 2019 12 July 2022 (2022-07-12) – 5 September 2022 October 2022 →

Full results for all candidates below
Opinion polls
Turnout82.6% (Members’ vote) Decrease 4.8
 
Candidate Liz Truss Rishi Sunak
Fifth MPs' ballot 113 (31.6%) 137 (38.3%)
Members' vote 81,326 (57.4) 60,399 (42.6)

leader before election

Boris Johnson

Elected leader

Liz Truss

Candidates

change

Declared

change
Candidate Political office and constituency Campaign Date declared Proposer/
seconder
Ref
 
Rishi Sunak
Chancellor of the Exchequer
(2020–2022)
MP for Richmond (Yorks) (2015–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
8 July 2022 Dominic Raab
Mel Stride
[2]
 
Liz Truss
Foreign Secretary
(2021–2022)
MP for South West Norfolk
(2010–present)
 
Website
10 July 2022 Simon Clarke
Thérèse Coffey
[3]

Eliminated

change
Candidate Political office Campaign Declared Eliminated Proposer
Seconder
Endorsed Ref
 
Penny Mordaunt
Minister of State for Trade Policy
(2021–present)
MP for Portsmouth North (2010–present)
 
Website
10 July 2022 20 July 2022
(5th round)
Andrea Leadsom
Craig Tracey
Liz Truss [4][5]
 
Kemi Badenoch
Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities
(2021–2022)
MP for Saffron Walden (2017–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
8 July 2022 19 July 2022
(4th round)
Lee Rowley
Julia Lopez
[6][7]
 
Tom Tugendhat
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
(2017–present)
MP for Tonbridge and Malling (2015–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
7 July 2022 18 July 2022
(3rd round)
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
James Daly
Liz Truss [8][9]
 
Suella Braverman
Attorney General for England and Wales
(2020–present)
MP for Fareham (2015–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-07-12 at the Wayback Machine
6 July 2022 14 July 2022
(2nd round)
David Jones
Miriam Cates
Liz Truss [10][11]
 
Jeremy Hunt
Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee
(2020–present)
MP for South West Surrey (2005–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
9 July 2022 13 July 2022
(1st round)
Esther McVey
Anthony Mangnall
Rishi Sunak [12][13]
 
Nadhim Zahawi
Chancellor of the Exchequer
(2022–present)
MP for Stratford-on-Avon (2010–present)
  9 July 2022 13 July 2022
(1st round)
Brandon Lewis
Amanda Milling
Liz Truss [13][14]

Withdrew before voting

change

The following MPs announced that they would seek the leadership of the Conservative Party but subsequently did not stand, or withdrew from the race, due to insufficient support or other reasons before the first ballot was cast:

Candidate Political office Campaign Declared Withdrew Endorsed Ref
 
Grant Shapps
Secretary of State for Transport
(2019–present)
MP for Welwyn Hatfield (2005–present)
  9 July 2022 12 July 2022 Rishi Sunak [15][16]
 
Rehman Chishti
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
(2022–present)
MP for Gillingham and Rainham (2010–present)
10 July 2022 12 July 2022 Tom Tugendhat,
then Rishi Sunak
[17][18]
 
Sajid Javid
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
(2021–2022)
MP for Bromsgrove (2010–present)
 
Website Archived 2022-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
9 July 2022 12 July 2022 Liz Truss [12][19]

Declined

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The following Conservative Party politicians publicly ruled themselves out of standing:

Timeline

change
Candidate status
Candidate on membership ballot
Candidate eliminated during MP ballots
Candidate withdrew
Events
Boris Johnson announces resignation
Nominations close
MP ballot
Results announced
Grant ShappsRehman ChishtiSajid JavidNadhim ZahawiJeremy HuntSuella BravermanTom TugendhatKemi BadenochPenny MordauntLiz TrussRishi Sunak

Results

change
% votes per round Candidate MPs' 1st ballot:
13 July 2022[39][40]
MPs' 2nd ballot:
14 July 2022[40][41]
MPs' 3rd ballot:
18 July 2022[40]
MPs' 4th ballot:
19 July 2022[40][42]
MPs' 5th ballot:
20 July 2022
Member's vote
Votes % Votes +/− % Votes +/− % Votes +/− % Votes +/− % Votes %
50 14.0 64 +14 17.9 71 +7 19.8 86 +15 24.1 113 +27 31.6 81,326 57.4
88 24.6 101 +13 28.2 115 +14 32.1 118 +3 33.0 137 +19 38.3 60,399 42.6
67 18.7 83 +16 23.2 82 −1 22.9 92 +10 25.8 105 +13 29.3 Eliminated
40 11.2 49 +9 13.7 58 +9 16.2 59 +1 16.5 Eliminated
37 10.3 32 −5 8.9 31 −1 8.7 Eliminated
32 8.9 27 −5 7.5 Eliminated
25 7.0 Eliminated
18 5.0 Eliminated
Votes cast 357 99.7 356 −1 99.4 357 +1 99.7 355 −2 99.4 355 0 99.4 141,725 82.2
Spoilt ballots 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 +1 0.3 2 +1 0.6 654 0.4
Abstentions 1 0.3 2 +1 0.6 1 −1 0.3 1 0 0.3 0 -1 0.0 30,058 17.4
Registered voters 358 100.0 358 0 100.0 358 0 100.0 357 −1 100.0 358 +1 100.0 172,437 100.0

Opinion polling

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Final round

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Dates
conducted
Pollster Sample
size
Rishi
Sunak
Liz
Truss
Will not
vote
Don't
know
16–17 Aug Conservative Home 961 Conservative Party members 28% 60% 3% 9%
8 Aug – 13 Aug Opinium 570 Conservative Party members 31% 68% N/A
12 Aug techneUK Archived 2022-08-12 at the Wayback Machine 272 Conservative Party members 33% 60% N/A 7%
5 Aug techneUK Archived 2022-08-12 at the Wayback Machine 261 Conservative Party members 36% 56% N/A 8%
3 Aug–4 Aug Conservative Home 1,003 Conservative Party members 26% 58% 1% 12%
29 Jul–2 Aug YouGov 1,043 Conservative Party members 31% 69% N/A
26% 60% 2% 11%
27–29 Jul techneUK Archived 2022-08-12 at the Wayback Machine 807 Conservative Party members 43% 48% 9%
20–21 Jul YouGov 730 Conservative Party members 38% 62% N/A
31% 49% 6% 15%
18–19 Jul Conservative Home 845 Conservative Party members 42% 49% N/A 9%
18–19 Jul YouGov 725 Conservative Party members 35% 54% N/A 10%
12–13 Jul YouGov 879 Conservative Party members 35% 59% N/A 6%
11–12 Jul Conservative Home 929 Conservative Party members 34% 51% N/A 14%
6–8 Jul Opinium 493 Conservative Party members 37% 33% 8% 22%
6–7 Jul YouGov 716 Conservative Party members 38% 43% N/A 19%

Before 5th round

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Dates
conducted
Pollster Client Sample
size
Kemi
Badenoch
Suella
Braverman
Jeremy
Hunt
Sajid
Javid
Penny
Mordaunt
Rishi
Sunak
Liz
Truss
Tom
Tugendhat
Ben
Wallace
Nadhim
Zahawi
Others
1–2 Aug 2022 YouGov N/A 1,043 31% 69%
12–13 Jul 2022 YouGov N/A 879 15% 5% 4% 27% 13% 13% 8% 1%
14%
Don't know on 8%
None of the above on 6%
6–7 Jul 2022 YouGov N/A 716 5% 4% 12% 10% 8% 6% 13% 5%
39%
Don't know on 12%
None of the above on 9%
Michael Gove on 7%
Dominic Raab on 7%
Priti Patel on 3%
Steven Barclay on 1%

References

change
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  2. "Ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak launches bid to be Conservative leader". BBC News. 8 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  3. Truss, Liz (10 July 2022). "Liz Truss: I would cut taxes from day one as prime minister". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  4. Mordaunt, Penny (9 July 2022). "Penny Mordaunt will deliver the new economic vision that Britain needs". Twitter. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  5. "Mordaunt crashes out of Tory leadership race leaving Sunak and Truss in the final – video". The Guardian. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
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  17. "UK MP Rehman Chishti to run for next UK PM". Reuters. 2022-07-10. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  18. Rehman Chishti [@rehman_chishti] (July 12, 2022). "I will not be taking my campaign any further for the leadership of our party @Conservatives as I have not been able to secure the necessary parliamentary backing. Full statement below👇" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Sajid Javid pulls out of Tory leadership race". The Independent. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
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  22. Berry, Jake (10 July 2022). "Tom Tugendhat is the man Britain needs to change the country, says JAKE BERRY". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
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  26. Jones, Rebecca (7 July 2022). "'It won't be me!' Matt Hancock rules out running for next Conservative leader". express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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  29. Gillian Keegan [@GillianKeegan] (July 12, 2022). "I'm really proud to be supporting Rishi to be our next Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  33. "Jeremy Hunt Says He Would Make Esther McVey His Deputy Prime Minister". HuffPost UK. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  34. "Priti Patel not standing "I am grateful for the encouragement and support colleagues and Party members have offered me in recent days in suggesting that I enter the contest for the leadership of the Conservative Party. I will not be putting my name forward for the ballot of MPs"". Twitter. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  35. Crump, Jonathon (13 January 2022). "Who could replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister if he stepped down?". MyLondon. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  36. "UK's Gove, deputy PM Raab won't run to be party leader - Daily Mail". euronews. 7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  37. Twitter https://twitter.com/bethrigby/status/1546797197768986624. Retrieved 2022-07-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. @christopherhope (July 11, 2022). "BREAKING Jacob Rees-Mogg tells me: "I am not standing. I want to unite rather than further fracture the Right." #ToryLeadershipContest" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  40. 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 "Tory leadership election: full results". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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