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In a stunning move, Senator Smith has announced that she is suspending her campaign for president. This comes as a surprise to many as she was considered to be one of the front runners in the race. In a statement, Smith said that she believes that there are other candidates who are better suited to lead the country and she does not want to stand in their way.
This is a significant development in the race for president and it will be interesting to see who benefits from Smith’s departure.
There are a few notable names who have dropped out of the race for leadership, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and ex-Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. While there are many reasons why these individuals may have chosen to leave the race, it’s clear that the competition is heating up and they were simply not able to keep up. This leaves the remaining candidates in a better position to win, but also means that they will have to work harder to prove themselves worthy of the top spot.
With so much at stake, we can expect an intense battle until the very end.
Tory Leadership Contenders 2022
The next Conservative Party leadership election is expected to be held in the second half of 2022, after Theresa May steps down as Prime Minister. The following is a list of potential contenders for the leadership of the UK’s Conservative Party.
Boris Johnson: The current Foreign Secretary and former Mayor of London is seen as a front-runner for the leadership.
He was a key figure in the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum and has been a vocal critic of Theresa May’s handling of Brexit.
Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Leader of the House of Commons and prominent Brexiteer has been tipped as a possible candidate, although he has said he would not stand against Boris Johnson.
Ruth Davidson: The Scottish Conservative leader is popular with party members and could be a unifying candidate if she was able to win support from both Brexiteers and Remainers.
Dominic Raab: The former Brexit Secretary resigned over Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement but remains popular with many Conservatives who want a harder line on Brexit. He has hinted that he may run for leader if there is another general election before 2022.
Amber Rudd: The current Work and Pensions Secretary is seen as a moderate candidate who could appeal to both Leavers and Remainers within the party.
She served as Home Secretary until resigning over the Windrush scandal in 2018.
Credit: nybreaking.com
Who was in the Tory Leadership Race 2022?
In January 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a leadership election for the Conservative Party after increasing pressure from within his party. The contest was open to any Conservative MP who could secure the support of at least five percent of their colleagues. In total, nine MPs entered the race:
Rory Stewart – Rory Stewart was a surprise entry into the leadership race and quickly became one of the frontrunners. He is a former international development secretary and had been widely tipped for a senior cabinet role before he quit in 2019 over Brexit. His campaign focused on uniting the country and healing divisions, and he won praise for his passionate speeches.
However, he was ultimately knocked out in the first round of voting.
Dominic Raab – Dominic Raab is a former Brexit secretary who resigned over Theresa May’s withdrawal deal. He ran on a hardline Brexiteer platform, promising to take Britain out of the EU by 31 October with or without a deal.
Raab was popular with grassroots Conservatives but failed to gain enough support from MPs and was eliminated in the second round of voting.
Michael Gove – Michael Gove is a long-time ally of Boris Johnson and served as his campaign manager during the 2016 EU referendum. He ran for leader himself in 2016 but dropped out after it emerged that he had taken cocaine several times as a journalist.
Gove positioned himself as a compromise candidate in this leadership race, pledging to deliver Brexit but also reaching out to Remainers. He made it through to the final two candidates but ultimately lost to Boris Johnson in the vote among Conservative Party members.
Jeremy Hunt – Jeremy Hunt is another former Tory leader who has been an MP since 2005.
He served as culture secretary under David Cameron before being promoted to health secretary, where he oversaw controversial reforms to NHS England. Hunt positioned himself as a “serious” candidate during this leadership race and pledged to unite both Leave and Remain voters behind Brexit if he became prime minister. However, like Michael Gove, he narrowly lost out to Boris Johnson in the final ballot among party members.
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Andrea Leadsom -Andrea Leadsom has been an MP since 2010 and served as energy minister under David Cameron before being promoted to Leader of House Commons under Theresa May . She stood for leader against Theresa May in 2016 but withdrew from the race before it went to a vote among Tory members , saying she did not have enough support .
Who Stood against Theresa May for Leadership?
In the wake of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, then-Prime Minister David Cameron resigned and triggered a leadership election within the ruling Conservative Party. Home Secretary Theresa May emerged as the only candidate and was elected leader by default on July 11, 2016. Her main opponent had been Andrea Leadsom, who withdrew from the race on July 11 after it became clear that she lacked enough support from her colleagues.
Other contenders for the leadership included Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former London Mayor Boris Johnson, both of whom supported Brexit but ultimately did not stand in the leadership election.
Who Ran against Boris Johnson for Leadership?
In the 2019 Conservative leadership election, Boris Johnson was elected leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party after beating Jeremy Hunt in the final ballot of MPs on 22 July 2019. He then succeeded Theresa May as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019. The other candidates who ran against Johnson were Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt.
Where is Liz Truss Now?
Liz Truss is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk since 2010. She is currently the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.
Truss was born in Oxford and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Merton College, Oxford.
After graduation, she worked for Shell UK as an economist before moving to Japan to work as an English teacher. She then worked as head of policy at the think tank Reform between 2006 and 2010.
In 2012, Truss was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Families with responsibility for early years education, childcare and equalities.
In 2014, she became Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; her time in this role was marked by several high-profile controversies including the badger cull and flooding in parts of England. In 2016, she was appointed Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor; she resigned from this role in 2018 after disagreements with Prime Minister Theresa May over Brexit.
Since 2019, Truss has served as Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.
In this role, she has been a strong advocate for free trade deals with countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Conclusion
The race for the leadership of the Conservative Party has been narrowed down to two candidates after several high-profile MPs dropped out. Rory Stewart, Dominic Raab and Esther McVey have all withdrawn from the contest, leaving Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt as the only remaining contenders. The final vote will be held by party members later this month.