{"id":48844,"date":"2022-10-22T19:37:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T18:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/?p=48844"},"modified":"2022-10-22T19:37:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T18:37:49","slug":"life-after-truss-can-the-conservatives-regain-the-nations-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/life-after-truss-can-the-conservatives-regain-the-nations-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"Life after Truss: Can the Conservatives regain the nation’s trust?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having resigned from her post early Thursday afternoon, after just 45 days in power, Liz Truss became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. While the country has barely had time to digest the news, the speculations have already begun: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is going to follow Truss as the next Prime Minister, and can the Conservative Party avoid another failure?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee<\/a>, announced in his briefing on Thursday evening that the process of choosing a successor has already started, and the deadline for applications is Monday, at 2:00 p.m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brady also announced that applicants need the support of at least one hundred Conservatives in the House of Commons to advance to the election stage. The chairman mentioned, \u201cWe fixed a high threshold, but a threshold that should be achievable by any serious candidate who has a prospect of going through<\/em>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Brady, this high threshold could potentially allow three candidates to advance to the election stage after the deadline expires. The Conservative Party currently has 357 representatives in the House of Commons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deadline for the election process is Friday afternoon, meaning that the UK will have its new Prime Minister by the 28 October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bookmakers<\/a> consider former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak the preferred candidate in the leadership race. He is followed by former Defense Minister Penny Mordaunt, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Liz Truss’s immediate predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who was also seen as a possible candidate, has ruled himself out of the Tory leadership race, and while not publicly backing anyone for leader, he has said he is currently “leaning towards” supporting Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the Party starts the process of looking for a new leader, I would like to put on the record that I will not be letting my name go forward as a candidate. I am privileged to be the UK Defence Secretary and the current threat requires stability in that office.<\/p>— Rt. Hon Ben Wallace (@BenWallace70) October 21, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>