SMALL GROUP CHOOSES PM

THE next Prime Minister of the UK, with its population of about 67.1 million, is being chosen by a small group whose exact size is not publicly known but is likely to number below 200,000.

The person picked by this group of Conservative members to become their leader might not even enjoy a majority of support among the party’s own MPs. While Rishi Sunak led his rival candidates in every round of voting among Tory MPs, it is Liz Truss who is more popular among the membership, according to polls.

The election to choose a new leader of the Conservatives was open to all party members who joined on or before June 3, but the precise number who received a ballot paper is not public knowledge because the Tories do not publish data on party membership.

Nearly 140,000 votes were cast in the Tory leadership election in summer 2019, when Boris Johnson won 92,153 votes and Jeremy Hunt won 46,656.

The turnout was given as 87%, suggesting around 160,000 people received ballots.

Only three years have passed since then, so it is unlikely the number of members eligible to vote has changed significantly.

Turnout for this election may be down on 2019. Some may choose not to vote because they are not keen on either candidate, while some would prefer Mr Johnson to stay.