Britain’s Conservative Party on Tuesday approved the nomination of eight deputies to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. in Downing Street, after they received the number of props needed to enter the fray.

(Read: UK: Labor activists to file motion condemning Johnson)

As planned, Former Minister of Economy Rishi Sunak former defense secretary Penny Mordaunt, head of diplomat Liz Truss and MP Tom Tugendhat were among the candidates, announced the 1922 committee, the Conservative parliamentary group tasked with setting election rules.

(You’re interested in: Great Britain: when will the name of the next prime minister be known?)

Also included are new Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, government representative and legal adviser Suella Braverman, former Secretary of State for Equality Kemi Badenoch and former Health Minister Jeremy Hunt.

All candidates receive support from their 20 colleaguesminimum threshold to compete for the leadership of the Conservative Party and, therefore, Downing Streetbecause the party constitutes a majority in the House of Commons.

Johnson stepped down on Thursday punctuated by a series of scandals and after a wave of resignations in his government. However, he will remain in office until his successor is elected on September 5.

As of Wednesday, eight candidates must have the support of 30 deputies if they are to advance to the first round of voting. The second round will be held on Thursday and, if necessary, there will be another on Monday.

In the end, there will only be two candidates left to contest the position and the final vote will be open to party adherents only. Hours before the announcement, there were still eleven candidates to replace Johnson, but three of them dropped out, including former Health Minister Sajid Javid.

The bookies ranked Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt as the two main favourites, followed by Liz Truss.

Less tax

As long as the campaign starts on TuesdaySunak avoided criticism and “hostile” Johnson, his former boss, whom he considers “one of the most extraordinary people” he has ever met.

The 42-year-old Conservative politician resigned last week, along with other ministers, in protest against Johnson’s scandal-plagued government.

His departure led to a wave of resignations that ended in the resignation of the prime minister. He is currently in the crosshairs of a deadly attack from Johnson’s supporters, who accuse him of causing his downfall.

For the time being, the campaign was limited to a few bombastic videos, polemics, and cryptic promises. Most of the candidates confirmed that they would implement the tax cuts but without providing details on how they would finance their actions.

Zahawi, 55, believes there was a campaign to “defile him” after the press revealed that there was a tax investigation against him. The minister promised to publish his tax returns every year if he was elected prime minister.

However, Sunak he is more careful than his rival regarding tax cuts in the context of strong inflation.

During his tenure as economy minister, Sunak was criticized for not doing enough to prevent rising costs of living.

Movement of condemnation

The name of the future prime minister will be known on September 5 after a vote by Conservative Party adherents. But for the opposition Labor Party it was too late.

On Tuesday, he filed a condemnation motion in parliament, which should be voted on by Wednesday, according to party sources. But the Government refused to offer time to debate the initiative in Parliament, which Labor saw as a “serious abuse of power”.

There is little hope that this motion will win the support of the ‘Tories’ as, if approved, it would lead to a general election, in which the Conservatives could lose the majority achieved in 2019 thanks to Johnson’s popularity.

INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP

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