Theresa May steps down today: What happens next?
Theresa May will officially step down as leader of the Conservative party today as the race to be her successor intensifies.
May, who announced her resignation two weeks ago in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street, will remain Prime Minister until a new leader is announced next month.
What happens next?
Eleven Tory MPs have entered the leadership contest, which will begin in earnest on Monday is expected to conclude on 22 July.
The new leader will be tasked with delivering Brexit before 31 October, when the UK is due to leave the EU.
Read more: Tory leader hopefuls must stay in the race until the bitter end
In her resignation speech, May said it was a matter of a “deep regret” that she could not deliver Brexit and said her successor would have to find a consensus where she had not.
The voting process
MPs need the support of at least eight colleagues to enter the contest, and nominations will close on Monday.
The first ballot of Conservative MPs will be held on Thursday, with candidates requiring at least 17 votes to progress to the next round.
The second round of voting will take place on Tuesday 18 June and candidates with fewer than 33 votes will be eliminated from the contest.
Further ballots will be held on Wednesday 19 June and Thursday 20 June as the candidate with the fewest votes is knocked out of the race until just two remain.
The final two will then campaign for Conservative party members’ votes, which will eventually decide the new Prime Minister a month later.
Brexit dominates the contest
Boris Johnson remains the frontrunner and bookies’ favourite, followed by Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Andrea Leadsom and then Dominic Raab.
Earlier this week the hopefuls were told they must be prepared to stay in the contest until the bitter end to avoid a repeat of the coronation of Theresa May as party leader in 2016.
May won the race to succeed David Cameron three years ago when leadership rival Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the contest after making it to the final two.
So far the candidates’ positions on Brexit have unsurprisingly dominated proceedings.
Raab caused controversy earlier this week by saying he would be ready as Prime Minister to suspend parliament so he could force a no-deal departure from the EU.
Fellow candidate Rory Stewart hit back claiming the plan was “illegal.”
Frontrunner Boris Johnson has made it clear that under her leadership Britain would leave the EU on 31 October “deal or no deal.”
Read more: Rory Stewart slams Dominic Raab’s ‘illegal’ Brexit plan
Meanwhile environment secretary Michael Gove has said he would delay Brexit beyond Halloween in a bid to win over moderate Tories and Remainers.
Calling a no-deal Brexit “not the best option”, he added: “Are we seriously saying we wouldn’t take a bit more time to get the deal done?”
Rival Esther McVey added that were she to win the contest, she would only choose Brexiters to serve in her cabinet, while Jeremy Hunt said he would accept no deal “with a heavy heart.”
Former universities minister Sam Gyimah ramped up his bid to become the next Prime Minister this morning, vowing to slash taxes for middle and high earners and reform business rates.