Conservative Party's Leadership Race Dominates Annual Conference

The UK's Conservative Party searches for a new leader following a catastrophic election defeat. Four candidates remain in the race, with party members set to vote for a winner by November 2. The Tories lost significant ground to Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the hard-right Reform UK.

Members of Britain's defeated and divided Conservative Party gathered on Sunday for an annual conference dominated by the search for a new leader capable of bringing the right-of-centre party back from a catastrophic election defeat.

UK voters ousted the Tories in a July election, leaving the party that had governed since 2010 with just 121 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The centre-left Labour Party won more than 400 seats and returned to office under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The four candidates remaining in the race to replace outgoing leader Rishi Sunak will use the four-day conference in Birmingham to appeal to party members. The candidates are former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, and ex-Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.

Party members across the country will vote to pick a winner, who will be announced on November 2. The winner will inherit a party in turmoil, having lost support to the hard-right Reform UK and the centrist Liberal Democrats. Former Prime Minister Theresa May emphasized the need for the party to maintain a centrist stance to avoid further defeat.

(With inputs from agencies.)