How the Tories elect a new leader

Candidates face up to four months of campaigning as they compete to succeed Rishi Sunak

At the end of July, six candidates to become the next leader of the Conservative Party were announced.
Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride all threw their hats into the ring.
Those who make it through the voting rounds face up to four months of campaigning as they compete to win over their fellow MPs and Tory members in the race to replace Rishi Sunak.
Dame Priti was the first candidate to be eliminated from the race, receiving just 14 votes. Mr Stride was eliminated on Sept 10, receiving just 16 votes, 17 behind the front-runner Mr Jenrick. 
Mr Jenrick has now been the front-runner in both votes.
Here, The Telegraph explains how the Conservative leadership contest will work.
Each of the candidates needed to have the support of at least 10 MPs to make it onto the ballot. MPs could only nominate only one candidate per voting round.
All candidates needed to have a proposer and a seconder among their 10 backers, and also had to prove they could raise £200,000 for the party.
The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers is a highly influential group, the leader of which has a key role in the leadership contest.
The committee plays a big part in the handling of votes of no confidence in the future of the party leader as well as leadership elections.
Sir Graham Brady stood down as its chairman at the election, and was replaced by Bob Blackman, the MP for Harrow East. Mr Blackman will oversee the race and was part of the small group that decided on the rules and timeline for the election.
This year, Mr Blackman announced a “yellow card” system for candidates and their campaign teams, with any found to attack a rival to be penalised and given a public dressing down.
The first two rounds of voting involve MPs casting ballots in support of their favourite candidate. The first round on Sept 4 knocked out Dame Priti who received the least votes.
Mel Stride was eliminated in second round on Sept 10, leaving the four remaining names to put their case to the party at the Conservative Party conference at the end of this month.
There will be a final MP vote to determine the final two hopefuls, who will then be put to the party membership to whittle down to the last candidate standing.
The six candidates spent the summer recess travelling across the country to drum up support for their campaigns, including a number of local hustings for members.
They faced the first round of voting in Westminster on Sept 4 and will face the second on Tuesday. The four remaining candidates after the two rounds of voting will take part in a so-called “beauty parade” at the conference, with a chance to put forward their vision for the party.
There will then be several hustings and votes after the conference over the course of three days. In the second week of October, MPs will vote again, resulting in a final two who will then face the membership vote.
The vote of members will take place online and will close on the afternoon of Oct 31. Those who had been a member of the party for 90 days or more ahead of the ballot closing date will be eligible to vote. The new leader will be announced on Nov 2.