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How to launch a Conservative Party coup

A challenge is triggered if 15 per cent of the Conservative MPs write letters demanding a confidence vote.

Tory chief whip Julian Smith leaves Downing Street with Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox yesterday. Picture: AFP
Tory chief whip Julian Smith leaves Downing Street with Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox yesterday. Picture: AFP

A challenge is triggered if 15 per cent of the Conservative MPs write letters demanding a confidence vote to the chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee, which represents MPs who have no government jobs. The Conservatives have 315 MPs, so 48 letters would be needed.

All Conservative MPs can vote for or against their leader. If Theresa May wins, she remains in office and cannot be challenged again for 12 months. If she loses, she must resign and cannot stand in the contest.

If the numbers for a spill are there, the vote is held as soon as possible, on a date decided by the 1922 Committee chairman in consultation with the party leader. The last no-confidence vote against a Tory leader, when the party was in opposition in 2003, was held the day after the chairman said he had enough letters.

While a new party leader would become prime minister, a general election would not be triggered. If several candidates come forward, a secret vote is held among MPs to whittle down the field. The candidate with the fewest votes is removed and the MPs vote again. The process is repeated until only two candidates remain. These two candidates are then put to a postal ballot of the wider party membership. Participants need to have been in the party for at least three months.

The Times

Read related topics:Brexit

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/how-to-launch-a-conservative-party-coup/news-story/d2e243ad596fab926090e7b6b2a718e2