Summary

  • Liz Truss will be the new UK prime minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest

  • Priti Patel resigns as home secretary, with Attorney General Suella Braverman tipped to replace her

  • It was a closer result than some analysts predicted, with Truss taking 57% of valid votes cast

  • She has pledged to "deliver" on the energy crisis and is understood to be considering a freeze on energy bills

  • Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to become chancellor, and Education Secretary James Cleverly foreign secretary

  • Truss will become prime minister on Tuesday after travelling to meet the Queen at Balmoral in Scotland

  • Labour's Keir Starmer has congratulated her but says the country is facing a "Tory cost of living crisis"

  • You can watch live BBC News coverage now by clicking at the top of the page

Live Reporting

Edited by Heather Sharp

  1. How did we get here?

    Conservative candidates during a debate in JulyPA Media

    On 7 July, Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister.

    It came after days of mounting political pressure which saw the mass resignation of many of his ministers.

    Some Tory MPs wasted no time in announcing their bid for the party leadership, with a number expressing their interest, or even putting their names forward, on the same day as Johnson’s resignation.

    The first part of the contest then got under way, with eight candidates nominated for the first round of voting. Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt were knocked out after receiving fewer than 30 votes each from Tory MPs.

    Successive rounds of voting then continued until only two candidates were left – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.

    While Liz Truss only narrowly beat fellow contender Penny Mordaunt to take her place as one of the final two contenders, Sunak won every round among Tory MPs, cementing his early reputation as the favourite.

    But much changed over the following month as more than 160,000 Tory members had the final say and the candidates set out their stalls at hustings all over the country to try and win them over.

    Liz Truss has for weeks been the bookies’ favourite.

  2. What happens today?

    The winner of the leadership contest – and as a result, our next prime minister - will be announced just after 12.30 BST at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, near the Houses of Parliament, by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs.

    Following the announcement, the new leader will make a speech, but they will not take questions. And we will not hear from the loser.

    The winner is likely to spend the rest of the day finalising their list of Cabinet ministers – and preparing for their first speech as PM, which they will deliver on Tuesday.

  3. We're getting a new PM

    Good morning and welcome along to our coverage of the result of the Conservative leadership election - which will produce a new prime minister for the UK.

    Either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will top the vote among Tory party members, who've spent the summer listening to a series of local hustings and TV debates.

    The pair were put to members after Tory MPs whittled down a list of eight contenders vying to take the top job after Boris Johnson’s resignation in July.