Conservative MPs have voted for the final two candidates to replace Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss make the final two – Penny Mordaunt is knocked out
The BBC will broadcast a final TV debate called “Our Next Prime Minister” between the final two candidates in the contest on 25 July.
It will be presented by Sophie Raworth, with analysis from BBC Political Editor Chris Mason and BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam.
The programme will broadcast live from Stoke-on-Trent in front of a 80 to 100 strong audience at 9pm on BBC One.
The first TV debate on Channel 4
TV debates have already taken place on Channel 4 and ITV.
The BBC has confirmed that all three remaining candidates – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss, have agreed to participate in the debate if they make it to the final two, after Sky News was forced to cancel its own planned debate when Mr Sunak and Ms Truss declined to take part.
The main event today is the third round of voting which will whittle the five Tory leadership candidates down to four. Here are the 5 MPs still in the race:
The vote itself is scheduled to take place 5pm to 7pm on Monday 18th July 2022.
The person with the fewest votes is eliminated from the contest and will then have to decide which of their rivals to support instead. It’s common practice that at least some – if not all – of a former candidate’s backers will be guided by their decision, which could prove vital as we edge closer to the final run-off of two candidates.
The result of the vote is expected at 8pm
The Voting process will be repeated until only 2 remain.
The two remaining MPs will then travel the country and rally support at hustings. They will each have a budget of £300,000, excluding travel, to spend on their campaigns.
The final two candidates will contest a vote among the 200,000 Conservative Party members. This tiny group, which works out to about 0.29 per cent of the population, will decide the next prime minister.
The first Tory leadership debate took place on live television on Friday evening. Hosted by journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy and broadcast on Channel 4, with streaming on All4, the event was watched by 7.4 million viewers.
Here’s how the papers ranked the winners and losers of the debate.
Winner
Loser
The Independent
Tom Tugendhat
Daily Mail
Tom Tugendhat
The New Statesman
Rishi Sunak
Liz Truss
The Telegraph
Rishi Sunak
The Guardian
Tom Tugendhat
The Spectator
Tom Tugendhat / Rishi Sunak
The Express
Tom Tugendhat
Bookie’s favourite at this stage is Penny Mordaunt
Channel 4 will host the first live television debate for candidates aiming to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and the country’s next Prime Minister, followed by ITV and then Sky.
Britain’s Next PM: The Conservative Leadership Debate will air on Channel 4 on Friday 15th July 2022 at 7pm GMT.
The debate will also be available to watch live on All4 and then on catch-up.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy hosts the debate with the candidates who are still in the running for the top job, facing questions from a studio audience of floating voters.
The Conservative leadership debate will air on ITV on Sunday 17th July 2022 at 7pm GMT.
The show will be available to watch live on ITV Hub and then on the streamer’s catch-up service following its airing.
The debate will be recorded at ITV’s White City Studios.
The channel previously aired a similar debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt when they were competing for Conservative Party leader in 2019.
The Conservative leadership debate will air on Sky News on Monday 18th July 2022.
The event will also be made available across Sky News’ digital channels and will be streamed on YouTube.
The debate will take place at the Sky News studios in West London and be presented by Kay Burley with questions from a virtual studio audience.
Suella Braverman has been eliminated in the second round of voting by MPs after receiving the fewest votes. She polled 27 votes, with the next lowest candidate, Tom Tugendhat, receiving 32 votes.