2024 Conservative Party leadership election (UK)

A Conservative Party leadership election was announced on 5 July 2024 when then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced his plans to resign as Conservative leader after the party's defeat at the 2024 general election.^[1]

The leadership race began on 24 July and will last for over three months, with Rishi Sunak's replacement being confirmed on 2 November.^[2]

Timeline

Key dates
Date	Event
24–29 July	Nomination period; potential candidates must gather the support of ten fellow Conservative MPs to qualify for the first MPs' ballot.^[3]^[2]
4–11 September	Conservative MPs will vote in a series of ballots to narrow the field down to four candidates.^[2]
29 September – 2 October	The Conservative Party Conference will take place, where all four remaining leadership hopefuls will give keynote speeches.^[2]
2–10 October	Conservative MPs will vote in two more ballots, where the four candidates will be whittled down to two finalists.^[2]
10–31 October	The final two candidates will go head-to-head in an online ballot of all Tory party members.^[2]
2 November	The result of the election will be announced.^[2]

Candidates

Announced

The following have announced their leadership campaigns.

Candidate	Constituency	Current office	Former offices	Campaign	Ref.
Kemi Badenoch	MP for North West Essex (2024–present); Saffron Walden (2017–2024)	Shadow Housing and Communities Secretary (2024–present)	Business Secretary (2023–2024) Minister for Women and Equalities (2022–2024) International Trade Secretary (2022–2023)	Website (Campaign) Announced: 28 July 2024	^[4]
James Cleverly	MP for Braintree (2015–present)	Shadow Home Secretary (2024–present)	Home Secretary (2023–2024) Foreign Secretary (2022–2023) Education Secretary (2022) Party Chair (2019–2020)	Website Announced: 23 July 2024	^[5]
Robert Jenrick	MP for Newark (2014–present)	Backbencher	Minister of State for Immigration (2022–2023) Housing and Communities Secretary (2019–2021)	Website Announced: 25 July 2024	^[6]
Priti Patel	MP for Witham (2010–present)	Backbencher	Home Secretary (2019–2022) International Development Secretary (2016–2017)	Website Archived 2024-07-31 at the Wayback Machine Announced: 27 July 2024 Eliminated: 4 September 2024	^[7]^[8]
Mel Stride	MP for Central Devon (2010–present)	Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary (2024–present)	Work and Pensions Secretary (2022–2024) Chair of the Treasury Select Committee (2019–2022) Leader of the House of Commons (2019)	Website Announced: 26 July 2024 Eliminated: 10 September 2024	^[9]^[10]
Tom Tugendhat	MP for Tonbridge (2024–present); Tonbridge and Malling (2015–2024)	Shadow Minister for Security (2024–present)	Minister of State for Security (2022–2024) Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (2017–2022)	Website Announced: 24 July 2024	^[11]

Declined

The following Conservative Party politicians were seen by commentators as possible candidates for the leadership but declined to stand:

Victoria Atkins, Shadow Health Secretary (2024–present), Health Secretary (2023–2024), MP for Louth and Horncastle (2015–present)^[12]^[13]
Suella Braverman, Home Secretary (2022, 2022–2023), Attorney General (2020–2022), MP for Fareham and Waterlooville (2024–present); Fareham (2015–2024) and September 2022 leadership candidate^[14]
Claire Coutinho, Shadow Energy Secretary (2024–present), Energy Secretary (2023–2024), MP for East Surrey (2019–present)^[15]
Kevin Hollinrake, Shadow Business Secretary (2024–present), MP for Thirsk and Malton (2015–present)^[16]
Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (2024–present), Chancellor of the Exchequer (2022–2024), Foreign Secretary (2018–2019), MP for Godalming and Ash (2024–present, formerly South West Surrey, 2005–2024), 2019 and September 2022 leadership candidate^[17]
Laura Trott, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2024–present), Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2023–2024), MP for Sevenoaks (2019–present)^[18]^[15]

Polling

Dates conducted	Pollster	Client	Sample size	Kemi Badenoch	James Cleverly	Robert Jenrick	Priti Patel	Mel Stride	Tom Tugendhat	Suella Braverman	Jeremy Hunt	Victoria Atkins	Esther McVey	Others	Don't know
2–3 September 2024	Conservative Home^[a]	N/A	863	34%	11%	18%	7%	2%	13%	Did not run				–	15%
6–15 August 2024	YouGov	N/A	903	24%	14%	12%	11%	2%	16%	Did not run				–	19%
2–12 August 2024	Techne	James Cleverly	805	14%	26%	10%	20%	4%	11%	Did not run				–	15%
5–8 August 2024	Conservative Home^[a]	N/A	917	33%	10%	19%	8%	2%	10%	Did not run				–	18%
31 July–5 August 2024	Popular Conservatism^[b]	N/A	468	23%	5%	24%	21%	2%	3%	Did not run				–	22%
10–11 July 2024	Conservative Home ^[a]	N/A	995	26%	9%	13%	3%	–	13%	10%	–	2%	1%	7%	16%
July 2024	YouGov^[c]	QMUL and Sussex University	725	31%	10%	7%	6%	–	15%	16%	12%	2%	–	–	–

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The ConservativeHome Party Members' Survey is a self-selecting panel, not a demographically or geographically weighted poll. The panel is composed of over 3,300 members of the Conservative Party, who receive the survey by email.
↑ Sample of party members who responded to a survey issued by the right-wing Popular Conservatism group. The survey did not use an independent polling organisation.
↑ 'Don't know' and 'None' removed

Results

Candidate	MPs' 1st ballot: 4 September 2024^[8]		MPs' 2nd ballot: 10 September 2024^[10]
Candidate	Votes	%^[a]	Votes	±	%^[a]
Robert Jenrick	28	23.7	33	+5	27.7
Kemi Badenoch	22	18.6	28	+6	23.5
James Cleverly	21	17.8	21	0	17.6
Tom Tugendhat	17	14.4	21	+4	17.6
Mel Stride	16	13.6	16	0	13.4
Priti Patel	14	11.9	Eliminated
Votes cast^[b]	118	97.5	119	+1	98.3
Spoilt ballots	0	0	0	0	0
Abstentions	3	2.5	2	-1	1.7
Registered voters	121	100.0	0	121	100.0

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Percentage of voting electorate for candidates, percentage of total electorate for votes cast.
↑ Due to rounding errors the sum of percentages may deviate.

References

↑ Heale, James (2024-07-11). "Sunak apologises to Tory MPs for election mess". The Spectator. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 "Conservative party plans to unveil next leader in November". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
↑ Maidment, Jack (2024-07-24). "Politics latest news: Tory MP says he'll nominate Priti Patel as next party leader". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
↑ "Kemi Badenoch enters Tory leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
↑ "James Cleverly running for Conservative leadership". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
↑ Francis, Sam (25 July 2024). "Jenrick becomes third Tory leadership candidate". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
↑ Rayner, Gordon (2024-07-27). "Priti Patel enters Tory leadership race promising to give members more say in policy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Maidment, Jack (4 September 2024). "Robert Jenrick on top in first round of Tory leadership race as Priti Patel eliminated". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
↑ "Mel Stride to stand in Conservative leadership contest". The Guardian. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 "Mel Stride out as four left in Tory leadership contest". BBC News. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
↑ "Tugendhat joins race to be next Tory leader". BBC News. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
↑ Holl-Allen, Genevieve (2024-07-07). "Victoria Atkins pitches herself as unity candidate as Tory leadership race speculation rises". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
↑ Martin, Daniel (2024-07-24). "Victoria Atkins: I am not running for Tory leader". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
↑ "Suella Braverman pulls out of Tory leader contest with a parting shot". Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 "The Conservative leadership race will be crowded, protracted and likely bitter". Politics.co. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
↑ "North Yorkshire MP fails in bid to stand for Tory leadership". York Press. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
↑ Manancourt, Vincent (July 6, 2024). "Jeremy Hunt rules himself out of Tory leadership race". Politico. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
↑ "'We need someone to stop Farage': Tories begin leadership hunt for their saviour". inews. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.

[ConHome-19] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 The ConservativeHome Party Members' Survey is a self-selecting panel, not a demographically or geographically weighted poll. The panel is composed of over 3,300 members of the Conservative Party, who receive the survey by email.

[20] Sample of party members who responded to a survey issued by the right-wing Popular Conservatism group. The survey did not use an independent polling organisation.

[21] 'Don't know' and 'None' removed

[percentages-22] 1.0 ^1.1 Percentage of voting electorate for candidates, percentage of total electorate for votes cast.

[votes-cast-23] Due to rounding errors the sum of percentages may deviate.

[1] Heale, James (2024-07-11). "Sunak apologises to Tory MPs for election mess". The Spectator. Retrieved 2024-07-11.

[:1-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 "Conservative party plans to unveil next leader in November". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2024-07-23.

[3] Maidment, Jack (2024-07-24). "Politics latest news: Tory MP says he'll nominate Priti Patel as next party leader". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.

[4] "Kemi Badenoch enters Tory leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-07-28.

[5] "James Cleverly running for Conservative leadership". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.

[6] Francis, Sam (25 July 2024). "Jenrick becomes third Tory leadership candidate". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2024.

[7] Rayner, Gordon (2024-07-27). "Priti Patel enters Tory leadership race promising to give members more say in policy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2024-07-27.

[elim-8] 8.0 ^8.1 Maidment, Jack (4 September 2024). "Robert Jenrick on top in first round of Tory leadership race as Priti Patel eliminated". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2024.

[9] "Mel Stride to stand in Conservative leadership contest". The Guardian. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.

[roundtwo-10] 10.0 ^10.1 "Mel Stride out as four left in Tory leadership contest". BBC News. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.

[11] "Tugendhat joins race to be next Tory leader". BBC News. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-07-24.

[12] Holl-Allen, Genevieve (2024-07-07). "Victoria Atkins pitches herself as unity candidate as Tory leadership race speculation rises". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.

[13] Martin, Daniel (2024-07-24). "Victoria Atkins: I am not running for Tory leader". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.

[14] "Suella Braverman pulls out of Tory leader contest with a parting shot". Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2024.

[possible-15] 15.0 ^15.1 "The Conservative leadership race will be crowded, protracted and likely bitter". Politics.co. Retrieved 22 July 2024.

[16] "North Yorkshire MP fails in bid to stand for Tory leadership". York Press. 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-07-30.

[17] Manancourt, Vincent (July 6, 2024). "Jeremy Hunt rules himself out of Tory leadership race". Politico. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

[18] "'We need someone to stop Farage': Tories begin leadership hunt for their saviour". inews. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.

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