Tory members snooze during a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham earlier this month (Picture: Getty)
The next Prime Minister is set to be chosen by thousands of predominantly male, white, southern pensioners – for the third time in three years.
After a calamitous 44 days, Liz Truss has resigned, making her the shortest-ever serving PM in British history.
The outgoing Tory leader confirmed an election to decide her successor would be wrapped up by next Friday.
Sir Graham Brady, the leader of the influential 1922 Committee, said he expects Conservative members to be involved in the process.
Once the candidates are confirmed, ballots will be sent to around 172,000 members – approximately 0.37% of Britain’s 46,560,452 registered voters.
Research has confirmed the majority of them are male, more than half are aged over 60, 97% are white British, and they tend to live in southern England.
They were called upon to select a PM in 2019, opting for Boris Johnson over the now-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Liz Truss resigns: What happens next?
Liz Truss has stepped down as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister after just 44 days. So what happens next?
– Liz Truss’ speech in full after resigning as Prime Minister
– Will the new Prime Minister be elected by the public?
– Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to go head to head
– Pound rises against the dollar after Liz Truss resigns
Read the latest Liz Truss news on Metro.co.uk’s dedicated page.
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Tory members make up just 0.37% of Britain’s registered voters (Picture: Getty)
Tories have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ under Liz Truss, but what and who is coming next? (Picture: Getty)
When Mr Johnson’s scandal-hit premiership came to its natural conclusion, Tory members had to choose their second prime minister in three years – selecting Ms Truss over Rishi Sunak little over six weeks ago.
Sir Keir Starmer has demanded to let the public decide the next PM, not the Conservative membership.
The Labour leader called for a general election immediately after Ms Truss resigned, saying: ‘The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people.
‘They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.
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‘The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future.
‘We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.’
His demand was supported by Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who said a general election is now ‘a democratic imperative’.
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It will be up to the predominantly male, white, southern Tory members to decide who replaces Liz Truss.