This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62068930

The article has changed 33 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 23 Version 24
Tory leadership: How Liz Truss was chosen as PM Liz Truss: How could the prime minister be replaced?
(about 1 month later)
Liz Truss has been announced as the UK's next prime minister, after winning the Conservative Party leadership. Having sacked her chancellor and U-turned on a series of key measures in her government's mini-budget, a number of Conservative MPs have called for the removal of Liz Truss as party leader.
She was chosen by a vote among party members, who make up less than 1% of the UK population. New chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned against ousting the PM, but what are the ways Tory MPs could force Ms Truss to step down?
When does Liz Truss become prime minister? Party pressure
Ms Truss was revealed as the winner of the leadership contest by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs. Either the Cabinet - made up of senior members of the government - or a large group of Tory MPs could apply political pressure by telling the PM she has lost their confidence and needs to go.
She won 81,326 votes, compared with 60,399 for former chancellor Rishi Sunak. Some Tory backbenchers, including Crispin Blunt and Jamie Wallis, have publicly called on Ms Truss to stand down.
Boris Johnson is due to announce his resignation to the Queen on Tuesday. Shortly after this, Ms Truss will be appointed by the monarch as the new PM. Political pressure forced Margaret Thatcher to resign in 1990, despite having defeated Michael Heseltine in the first round of a leadership challenge. Mrs Thatcher stood down after her Cabinet refused to back her in the second round.
Watch: The 1922 Committee explained in 90 seconds Boris Johnson - Ms Truss's predecessor - resigned following a mass revolt by ministers over his leadership in July. The resignation came a month after Mr Johnson had survived a confidence vote.
Watch: The 1922 Committee explained in 90 seconds Many Tory MPs are doom-laden - what will they do next?
Constitutionally, there must be a prime minister at all times. So, Mr Johnson remains in post until his successor formally takes over. A confidence vote
Normally a new prime minister is invited to Buckingham Palace to be appointed by the Queen - on advice of the ruling party. Each political party has its own rules on leadership challenges.
However, in a break from tradition, the Queen will instead stay in Balmoral and both Mr Johnson and Ms Truss will travel to Scotland to meet her there. In the Conservatives' case, at least 15% of sitting Tory MPs have to write a letter saying they no longer have confidence in the party leader.
Queen to stay at Balmoral to appoint new PM The 15% threshold currently works out as 54 MPs.
Who's in the UK Royal Family and how does it work? Letters of no confidence are sent to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee - the organisation representing all backbench Conservative MPs. These are MPs that are not government ministers.
Who picked the next Tory leader and prime minister? However, under the 1922 committee's current rules a new leader cannot be challenged in their first year.
Conservative Party members picked the winner - in a choice between Ms Truss and Mr Sunak. So unless the rules are changed, Ms Truss could not be removed this way.
To try to win their votes, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss spent the summer taking part in hustings events around the UK, where they were questioned about their policies. Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote, but still resigned as PM a month later.
The events were open to Conservative members and were streamed on the party's website. Journalists were allowed to attend - but couldn't ask questions. Any rule change would have to be agreed by the executive committee of the 1922.
Tory leadership candidates compared: Truss v Sunak If they were changed - and the threshold was reached - a vote of no confidence in the sitting leader would then be held. This vote is usually organised very quickly, with the leader requiring a majority of Tory MPs taking part to back them in order to carry on.
Do Tory leadership tax pledges add up? Hunt warns Tory MPs against ousting PM
What was in the mini-budget and what has changed?
Who is in charge? Liz Truss or Jeremy Hunt?
A motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a vote where all MPs - not just Conservatives - get to vote on whether they have confidence in the government to continue.
If Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer introduced this motion, convention means that the government would need to provide time for a debate and a vote in Parliament.
In order to pass, the motion needs just one more MP voting in favour than against.
James Callaghan was the last PM to lose a no-confidence vote in 1979.
For this to happen, however, Conservative MPs would need to vote down their own government - something many would be very unlikely to do.
But assuming a vote was held and the government lost, there are two possible outcomes.
The most likely is that Parliament would be dissolved and a general election called. In these circumstance, Ms Truss would not be obliged to resign.
It is also possible that the King could invite somebody else to form a government - someone who could win a vote of confidence in the House of Commons.
How do Tory leadership contests work?
If the PM did step down, there are currently two stages to choosing a new Conservative leader.
Firstly, Tory MPs choose two candidates to go forward to a vote of the wider membership of the party.
If necessary, Tory MPs whittle down the field to these two with a series of ballots where the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated after each round.
In the second stage, party members vote for the winner.
In the contest held over the summer, Ms Truss won 81,326 votes among party members, compared with 60,399 for her rival Rishi Sunak.
But if one of the candidates withdraws, the remaining candidate becomes Conservative Party leader without a final vote. This happened when Theresa May became leader in 2016.
The 1922 Committee sets the contest's timetable and rules. However, this only applies to the stages in Parliament.
Removing party members from the voting process would likely require a change to the Conservative party's constitution.
Will there be a general election?Will there be a general election?
When a prime minister resigns, there isn't automatically a general election. There isn't automatically a general election when a new PM is appointed.
When Theresa May took over from David Cameron in 2016, for example, she decided not to call an immediate election. If Ms Truss stays (or a new Tory PM takes over) and decides not to call an early election, the next one does not have to be held until January 2025 at the latest.
If Ms Truss chooses not to call an early election, the next one will have to be held by January 2025 at the latest.
Could there be an early election?Could there be an early election?
How did voting work?
The ballot of party members closed on Friday 2 September.
To be able to vote, Conservative members had to have joined the party on or before 3 June 2022.
Eligible members could vote by post or online.
Watch: Conservative party members spoke to the BBC at a campaign event in Norwich
Watch: Conservative party members spoke to the BBC at a campaign event in Norwich
Originally they were going to be able to vote twice, with only their second vote - cast either online or by post - counted.
But after the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, warned there was a risk that a foreign state could try to interfere in the process, the party decided that members would be allowed to vote only once.
There were 172,437 members who were eligible to vote in the 2022 contest and turnout was 82.6%.
Who are the Tories that will choose the next PM?
What powers does Boris Johnson still have?
Until he goes to the Queen and formally resigns, in theory Mr Johnson keeps all his powers.
However, in reality, he lacks the authority to introduce substantial new policies, and promised his cabinet that he would not make any "major changes of direction".
One of his final acts in office is likely to be awarding knighthoods and appointments to the House of Lords in his resignation honours list.
What was Boris Johnson's track record as PM?
What does the prime minister actually do?
What happens when you stop being prime minister?
How were the final two candidates selected?
The Conservative Party's 357 eligible MPs held a series of votes. The candidate polling the lowest number was eliminated in each round, until only two remained:
Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
The six candidates knocked out were:
Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt (fifth ballot)
Former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch (fourth ballot)
Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat (third ballot)
Attorney General Suella Braverman (second ballot)
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi (first ballot)
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (first ballot)