As of 4pm on Wednesday, five rounds of voting by Conservative MPs had the final two party leader candidates ready for the next stage. That process – and the choice of who becomes prime minister – will be up to Tory members.
The party does not say how many members it has, with estimates ranging between about 140,000 and 200,000. Each member is eligible to vote as long as they joined before June 3 this year, three months before voting ends. People who are members of more than one party association get one vote.
Newsletters will be sent to members and should arrive between August 1st and August 5th. Voting closes at 5pm on September 2nd and the winner will be announced on September 5th. They will most likely officially become Prime Minister the day after.
Although members have one month to vote, the experience of such mail-in ballots shows that many people tend to do so immediately, preferring the fast, hard-hitting early campaigning of both candidates.
There will be a schedule of national events where members can ask questions, which will also be broadcast live. Details are expected to be announced on Wednesday evening or first thing on Thursday.
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Although the electorate that chooses the next Prime Minister is larger than the 358 Tory MPs who narrowed the field, it is still not particularly representative of the UK.
Tory members are disproportionately male – in 2017 71% were male – and are more likely to live in London and southern England. The average age at that time was 57 years.
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