The Conservative Party is due to elect a new party leader in the coming weeks.
Following the news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be stepping down as Conservative Party leader and, ultimately, his job as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, various Conservative MPs have thrown their hats in the ring to replace him.
Among those competing include serving cabinet ministers, former cabinet ministers and also MPs who have never sat in government.
So, who will be the person to succeed Boris Johnson and likely lead the Conservative Party into the next General Election?
In the meantime, you will likely want to hear what they all have to say about their plans for leadership.
Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming television debate.
How to watch the Conservative leadership debate
The Conservative leadership debate will air on ITV on Sunday 17th July 2022 at 7pm GMT.
The show will be available to watch live on ITV Hub and then on the streamer’s catch-up service following its airing.
The debate will be recorded at ITV’s White City Studios.
The channel previously aired a similar debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt when they were competing for Conservative Party leader in 2019.
Michael Jermey, ITV’s Director of News and Current Affairs, commented: “Television debates at important elections help voters engage with politics.
“ITV has been the home of some of the biggest political debates over the past decade. Sunday’s debate will be an important event as the country’s next Prime Minister is chosen.”
Who is running to be the Conservative Party leader?
The following Conservative Party MPs have declared their intentions to run to be Conservative Party leader and, ultimately, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- Suella Braverman MP, Attorney General
- Tom Tugendhat MP
- Rishi Sunak MP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Kemi Badenoch MP, former Levelling Up minister
- Grant Shapps MP, Transport Secretary
- Nadhim Zahawi MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Liz Truss MP, Foreign Secretary
- Sajid Javid MP, former Health Secretary
- Jeremy Hunt MP
- Penny Mordaunt MP, Minister of State
- Rehman Chishti MP
It is also possible that Priti Patel MP, Home Secretary, will run for the leadership too.
So far, MPs to rule themselves out of the race include Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace.
Who will be taking part in the Conservative leadership debate?
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Potentially, all 11 (or more) contenders could participate in the leadership debate.
However, with the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs set to outline the timetable and rules for the leadership race, we may see some of these MPs no longer qualify to compete.
Charles Walker, former chair of the 1922 Committee, told BBC News on Monday 11th July 2022: “When we had this in 2019, we set the threshold at 17 supporters to go through, then second round was 33.
“So I suspect you’ll see a more aggressive threshold to thin the field.
“If the first round is on Wednesday, it gives us six days until the House of Commons rises on 21st July.
“So it is possible it can be done.”
If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide.
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