A fraction of the population allowed to vote

Britain's next prime minister will govern a nation of 66 million people, but only 0.25 per cent of them had a say in the choice.

A look at how the process works:

Who voted?

Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation last month, triggering a leadership contest in which any of the 313 Conservative legislators was eligible to run. The initial field of 10 candidates was then whittled down to two in elimination votes by Tory lawmakers. The final two, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, went to a runoff decided in a postal ballot of about 160,000 Conservative members across the country. To be eligible to vote, they needed to have paid a £25 ($46) membership fee and been in the party for at least three months.

Who are they?

The country's leadership choice was largely in the hands of comfortably off, older white men. According to a UK academic study, 70 per cent of Conservative members are men, half are over 55, 86 per cent are middle class or above and 97 per cent are white — in a country where 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the population belongs to an ethnic minority.

When does the public get a say?

Most Britons have had to watch the leadership contest — complete with campaign rallies and televised debates — as passive spectators.

Britain's next scheduled election is in 2022, but the incoming prime minister might call an early vote if he can't get his plans approved, and seek a new mandate from the electorate.