Prime minister: Who will be the new PM and how are they chosen?

Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are the only two people that have so far officially announced their bid to become the next Conservative party leader and prime minister

Rishi Sunak has emerged as the strong favourite in the race to become the next Conservative Party leader, after Boris Johnson announced he was not standing.

As the Conservatives are the party in power, their new leader will automatically become the UK's next prime minister as well.

Mr Sunak, the former chancellor, currently has the most public support among Conservative MPs.

The only other candidate to have officially announced their bid is senior MP Penny Mordaunt.

Any Conservative MP who wants to stand, has until 2pm today to put themselves forward.

They need to get 100 votes of support from his or her team to stay in the contest - something only Mr Sunak has so far publicly received.

If this remains the case, it is possible Mr Sunak could become prime minister today.

If Ms Mordaunt or another candidate also reaches 100 backers - there will be a leadership race over the next few days, with a new prime minister announced by Friday this week.

What's the latest?

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Sunday night he won't be standing in the leadership race

There had been a lot of talk about whether Boris Johnson, who stood down as prime minister and Conservative party leader in July, could try and stage a comeback - but he confirmed on Sunday evening that he won't be standing in the leadership race.

Mr Johnson said he had the support needed to stand but it would not be "the right thing to do".

He added that there was a "very good chance" he would have been successful, and "back in Downing Street".

But he said there needed to be "a united party in Parliament".

Mr Johnson won a historic general election for the Conservative Party in 2019 but although he was popular when he won the election, decisions he made as prime minister, including breaking rules during lockdown led to many to call for him to go and he resigned in July 2022.

Who could be the next prime minister?

Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak lost to Liz Truss in the last leadership contest over the summer

Rishi Sunak announced over the weekend his bid to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister.

So far Mr Sunak has received the most amount of public support from fellow Conservative MPs and many people say that he has the best chance of becoming the next Conservative leader and prime minister.

You might remember Rishi Sunak as the former chancellor, who worked closely alongside Boris Johnson.

He was in charge of the UK's money during the coronavirus pandemic and made some decisions that were popular, including supporting businesses.

He also launched the 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme to get people spend their money again after lockdown in an attempt to help the UK economy.

He ran against Liz Truss in the last leadership contest over the Summer, coming second, but since then he seems to have gained popularity with many.

His warning about how Liz Truss's policies would affect the economy proved to be true.

As a result, some think he is a much safer pair of hands when it comes to the UK's money - something people care a lot about.

But some within the Conservative Party aren't happy about how he left Boris Johnson's government, saying he let the then prime minster down.

Penny Mordaunt

Penny Mordaunt is currently the leader of the House of Commons

On Friday, Penny Mordaunt became the first MP to announce she will be running to be the next party leader and prime minister.

Ms Mordaunt came third in the last leadership contest over the summer, just missing out on making it to the final two.

In 2019 she became the UK's first female defence secretary, and is currently the leader of the House of Commons - an important job which means she has to try and keep MPs from all parties in check.

She has strong support from her fellow MPs however some within the party don't think she is a good choice.

They worry her views on trans rights will affect how popular she is and damage their chances of winning another general election.

Someone else?

So far only Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak have confirmed that they will be standing, but MPs have until 2pm on Monday 24 October to put their names forward.

However, with the deadline fast approaching, it's unlikely that any more people will announce they are running.

Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Tom Tugendhat, who stood in the last contest held over the summer, have all said they won't be going for the job.

How will a new leader be chosen?

Liz Truss, who stepped down as Prime Minister last week, will officially leave the job when her successor as Conservative Party leader is found.

The party has been given until the end of this week to find a new leader, who will become the fifth Conservative prime minister in six years.

MPs have until 2pm today to put their name forward, and will then need to get 100 other Conservative MPs to support them.

This is more than they needed at the last contest, where Liz Truss was chosen as PM. Then only 20 nominations were needed.

As there are currently 357 Tory MPs, this means a maximum of three candidates will be able to progress.

If only one person gets the 100 nominations needed they will become the next leader, and as a result, the new prime minister.

If there is more than one candidate, Conservative MPs will be asked to vote for who they want to become the next leader.

This vote will be held between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday.

If there are three candidates, the one with the fewest number of votes will be eliminated by 6pm and then MPs will vote again to decide between the final two.

This will happen straight after the first vote - taking place between 6.30pm and 8.30pm - so whatever happens, the MPs choice will be decided by 9pm on Monday.

At this stage the person with the fewest votes could decide to drop out of the contest - this is what happened when Theresa May was being elected as leader.

If this happens the remaining candidate automatically becomes the new leader, but if they stay in the contest there will have to be another vote by party members.

Party members include members of the public who have joined the Conservative party, will then be asked to take part in an online vote to decide the winner.

It is hoped the two candidates will take part in a television debate before then to help people get to understand them and their policies better.

We will know who has won by Friday 28 October.

The King will then ask that person to form a government, becoming the UK's next prime minister!