In the end, Sunak was the only remaining candidate to receive the support of more than 100 Tory MPs. Photo: Stefan Rousseau
After the collapse of Liz Truss's premiership in October 2022, the best approach was to choose a successor quickly.
The 1922 Committee, which oversees the Conservative leadership contest, decided that in order to pass In the first round of voting, a candidate must be nominated by at least 100 Conservative MPs, five times the threshold in the summer race.
Thus, candidates without hope will be prohibited from running, as a maximum of three candidates can reach that level of support. Boris Johnson's allies saw the high threshold as a way to keep Boris out of the election. But an executive source said in 1922 that the reason for the higher bar was speed, not obstruction of Johnson.
However, there may be disagreements with another body involved in determining the process: the Conservative Party board. It involved Jake Berry, chairman of the Conservative Party, and the question of the membership vote, the second stage of the fight to choose a leader.
This return match posed a significant political risk for Sunak, who, along with the members, lost the Track in the previous campaign. And so eyebrows were raised when Jeremy Hunt, who backed Sunak in the summer race, summoned Berry to the Treasury on the day of Truss's resignation.
In the interview, Berry revealed his version of what happened for the first time. Two of the Treasury's most senior officials — James Bowler, the permanent secretary, and Kath Little, the second permanent secretary — have reportedly explained why it is important for financial stability that the chancellor is allowed to present his financial report on 31 October. as planned.
It was only 11 days. Hunt allegedly repeated this message. To Berry's ears the request was clear: the members' vote should be abandoned because it would take too long.
Berry said: «The whole point is that if you as chairman allow members of the Conservative Party to have a vote, then the chancellor will not be able to deliver this budget on October 31 and therefore the four horsemen» in terms of the economy, the apocalypse will soon be on the horizon, and this cannot be allowed to happen.»
Berry believed that the members' vote should be abandoned because it would take too long. Photo: Jeff Pugh
A note written by Berry at the time captures portions of the conversation. On one line there is the name «James», an arrow, and then the words «deferred until the 31st». Another has Kat's name (though it's misspelled «Kat»), an arrow and words including «talk openly about what's happening to us.»
The third line appears to be a warning about intervention by the Bank of England if the date is missed. «If [we] don't do this with fiscal policy, the 31st bank will step in,» we read some words, followed by references to a «100-125 basis point view» — apparently estimates of market movements.
Berry said it was «100 percent» clear that both officials and Hunt were pushing for the membership vote to be overturned. His response to government officials, he said, could be described as “none of your business.” A second source familiar with the incident confirmed that Berry's account of events was generally accurate.
«Jeremy's only priority was to avoid a collapse in the financial markets» Photo: Anadolu
However, Jeremy Hunt's memories seemed to be different. A source close to Hunt said: «Jeremy's only priority was to avoid the collapse of the financial markets, which was very close to happening.» Jeremy was worried about the protracted membership campaign, like in the summer: now the markets need a stable government.
“Jake said he could run the entire leadership campaign in a week,” Jeremy jumped at the suggestion. Jeremy just didn't want the campaign to be drawn out like last summer. He had nothing to do with the candidates — he needed a new prime minister and a stable administration to prevent financial collapse.»
In the end, the issue turned out to be moot. Funds for expedited member voting were indeed provided, but they would only be required if two candidates passed the 100-member threshold. However, on the evening of Sunday 23 October 2022, Johnson was still lacking public statements of support from MPs. That same evening he withdrew from the election.
Boris's withdrawal left one more candidate: Penny Mordaunt, the fluent and outspoken former defense minister. As the deadline approached, Mordaunt's team announced that it had reached the 90 MP mark.
It ultimately fell short of expectations, too. Sunak was the only candidate still standing with the support of more than 100 Tory MPs, so he became the next Conservative leader — and the next prime minister.
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