Britain will have new prime minister by July 26 as Tories change rules to speed up leadership race
- With party in turmoil over Brexit, multiple members of parliament are running to replace Theresa May, with more waiting in the wings
- Faced with prospect of contest dragging on for months at time of national crisis, panel of Conservative MPs raised bar for entry and accelerated voting process
Boris Johnson, the front-runner to replace Theresa May as Britain’s prime minister, warned Conservative Party colleagues that they face “extinction” if they do not deliver Brexit by the current deadline of October 31.
“We are facing an existential crisis and will not be forgiven if we do not deliver,” Johnson told a private meeting of Tory members of Parliament, according to his office. “There is a very real choice between getting Brexit done and the potential extinction of this great party.”
He was speaking after the Conservatives set out an accelerated procedure for selecting a new leader that will see a prime minister in place by July 26. The party has raised the bar for MPs who wish to run for the job, and two dropped out on Tuesday, narrowing the field slightly to 11.
The first hustings of the election was held behind closed doors in parliament on Tuesday evening, as four of the candidates – Johnson, Sajid Javid, Rory Stewart and Andrea Leadsom – addressed the “One Nation” caucus of Conservatives, who want the party to focus on unifying issues of social policy, rather then Brexit.
Johnson, who has kept a low profile in recent weeks, has yet to set out how he would achieve his goal, but according to Nicky Morgan, one of the MPs who organised the event, he said the existing deal negotiated by May did not work.