As Conservative party managers announced Thursday as the deadline for nominations for the next party chief, more senior MPs are likely to join the race that is widely expected to lead to Boris Johnson becoming the leader and prime minister.
Senior leaders Theresa May, Liam Fox, Michael Gove, Stephen Crabb and Jeremy Hunt are the other likely candidates. There are Tory members keen to ensure that “anyone but Boris” becomes the prime minister.
The shorter timeline announced by the party’s private members’ committee means the next prime minister will be in place by early September. Prime Minister David Cameron, who said he intended to quit after Britons voted on June 23 to leave the European Union, had earlier set an October deadline for the next premier to take over.
Chancellor George Osborne was considered the most likely successor to Cameron in the pre-Brexit situation, but he ruled himself out on Tuesday and said he would accept any responsibility should the next prime minister ask him to do so.
The Labour Party continued to self-harm as more members of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet resigned and the parliamentary party was set to vote on Tuesday evening on a no-confidence motion against Corbyn, who has insisted he will stay on amid growing calls for him to resign.
{{/usCountry}}The Labour Party continued to self-harm as more members of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet resigned and the parliamentary party was set to vote on Tuesday evening on a no-confidence motion against Corbyn, who has insisted he will stay on amid growing calls for him to resign.
{{/usCountry}}Corbyn, accused of failing to prevent the Brexit vote by being lukewarm during the campaign, enjoys the support of party members who will get to vote again in the event of another leadership contest. Corbyn was elected leader less than a year ago.
Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who tabled the no-confidence motion, described a meeting of the parliamentary party on Monday night as extraordinary. She said: “I couldn’t believe the strength of feeling, the overwhelming rejection of Jeremy as our leader, and the pleading with him that he should consider his position and go with dignity.”
But pro-Corbyn shadow health secretary Diane Abbott said the no-confidence vote “has no meaning. She said, “MPs don’t choose the leader of the Labour Party, the party does. I think it is really sad that colleagues have chosen to stage this three-ring circus because they don’t want to have a leadership election because they are not certain of winning a leadership election. The way to resolve this is to have a leadership election.”