(Observer Network) "Guardian" news, on the morning of October 22, local time, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak has won the support of 100 MPs needed to run for the leader of the Conservative Party, becoming the first candidate to run for election. Later that afternoon, Conservative MP James Duddridge claimed on social media that former British Prime Minister Johnson had also gained the support of more than 100 MPs.
Screenshot of the Guardian report
Screenshot of a tweet of James Dadrich, UK Minister of State for Trade Policy and a close ally of Johnson
Sky News confirmed the news to sources.
However, according to the "Guardian" statistics, as of 3:10 p.m. local time on the 22nd, as for the number of Conservative MPs who publicly expressed support, Sunak was 110, ahead of Johnson (51) and Mordaunt (23). Sky News also said it had not been informed of the names of 100 of Johnson's supporters.
Just over half an hour after James Dudridge tweeted, Radio Thames' Lucy Fisher broke the news that members of Sunak's camp were skeptical of Johnson's claim that he had 100 supporters, with one member saying that "fabricating support figures out of thin air to meet the Sunday newspaper deadline shows how unscrupulous Boris is to save face." ”
Screenshot of Twitter of Radio Thames chief political commentator Lucy Fisher
According to the rules, candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party must have the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 14:00 on 24 October, and since the Conservative Party currently has 357 MPs, only a maximum of 3 candidates can be nominated.
If only one candidate meets the conditions by then, the election will end on the 24th, and the candidate will directly become the leader of the party and then the prime minister.
If there are 3 candidates, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated directly. Conservative MPs will vote for the remaining two candidates between 18.30pm and 20.30pm daylight saving time (i.e. indicating the preference of MPs), with results coming out at 21pm on the same day.
If no one withdraws after a directed vote, all Conservatives will vote online to determine the winner. Before the voting of party members closes, the two candidates are expected to participate in a televised debate, the winner of which will be selected on October 28.
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