you go, this time of year. there you go, back to you ben. louise thank you very much indeed. we are expending an announcement at any moment from the conservative party to confirm which of the contenders to replace teresa may have made it through to the first round of voting. —— theresa may. that is the first scene in the 1922 committee room there. the original field of 11 and pieces been reduced 110w field of 11 and pieces been reduced now to ten. sam gimayah, won the contenders pulled out of the race just a few mins ago saying he had not had enough time built. we have received the following valid nominations, they are, michael gove, proposer lord eustis. matt hancock,

proposer lord eustis. matt hancock, proposer damian green and tracey crouch. mark harper, proposerjackie draw price and second steve double. jeremy hunt, the proposer is doctor liam fox. sajid javid, the proposer is robert halperin and the sector is victoria atkins. borisjohnson, who is proposed by elizabeth truss and seconded by ben wallace. andrea leadsom who has been proposed by chris heaton—harris and seconded by heather wheeler. esther mcvey who has been proposed by sir gary streeter and seconded by ben bradley. dominic rather, the proposer is david davis and the

second is maria miller. and lastly, rory stewart, the proposer is david cork and the second is victoria prentis. that means there are ten valid nominations. the official 19 -- 1920 to valid nominations. the official 19 —— 1920 to hustings will be held tomorrow and wednesday and the first ballot will be held on thursday between 10am and midday. we anticipate for that it is an gentleman of the press that the result of the first ballot will be available around 1pm this thursday. thank you very much indeed. so, there we are, there is the list of oui’ there we are, there is the list of our logical nominees. our political correpsondent nick eardleyjoins me now from the houses of parliament. there has been ten people going forward to the long list, an

extended field of leadership candidates, all of those who got the backing of eight mps. really important to point out it is not a sign of how much support they have, thatis sign of how much support they have, that is something we will figure out in the next couple of days before the first ballot which will take place on thursday when you will need 16 mp5 place on thursday when you will need 16 mps to stay in the race. let us discuss this with sir duncan who is backing his boss, jeremy hunt. what do you make of the ten in the race, is it too many? i think it is too many but we have a process of whittling it down to a shortlist. sam gyimah pulled out, he did not get the eight but he made a perfectly decent stand for what he believes in. in the voting on thursday, we will see that quite a number will fallout but i suspect we will whittle it down to the final two mixtures to, that is probably how it will unfold. then you will

need 33 mp5, if you include yourself, to get through that range. if you have got that far, you will get more than 32. that is right, that threshold below which people will have to drop out. we will see some of the people nominated today not really get much of a lead, they may not get double figures. i think a lot will depend on how the votes redistributed between thursday and tuesday, that is going to be the determinant of who will go forward to party membership. it is important that two names do go through to the party membership. there has to be a vote at some point. you are backing jeremy hunt, how do you feel the last couple of days have gone? michael gove seems to lost a lot of momentum after the issue of him taking cocaine 20 years ago, do you

think your man is the stop bodice candidate? i see him as the jeremy hunt candidate, not the stop boris johnson candidate. probably that will be boris johnson johnson candidate. probably that will be borisjohnson himself. he has been hiding in the time has come for him to see what he really thinks, to be scrutinised and go to the hustings both on television and in front of the members. michael gove has had a difficult couple of days, that's what happens in these things he is still in the race? i think he is in the top three or four but probably fewer people are to tra nsfer to but probably fewer people are to transfer to him and might have been the case had this not happened. we have said jeremy hunt is your boss and boris johnson was have said jeremy hunt is your boss and borisjohnson was your boss until a few months ago, what makes jeremy hunt a better candidate than borisjohnson? jeremy hunt a better candidate than boris johnson? i have seen both of

them in action as foreign secretary, i have served as the deputy throughout the period of each of them, they are very, very different. i have absolutely no doubt in my mind that i strongly supportjeremy hunt is the man who is most capable but also most suitable to be prime minister at this difficult time. dealing borisjohnson minister at this difficult time. dealing boris johnson is minister at this difficult time. dealing borisjohnson is capable of being prime minister?” dealing borisjohnson is capable of being prime minister? i suppose anyone can be capable but it does not mean you would do a good job. i think that are too many elements in his character which are unreliable. i think that makes it very difficult at what is a difficult time for the country. he does not like detail very much, he likes theatrical things and publicity but what we really need is responsibility. it is a very, very difficultjob. you have to get on with people and one of the first things he would have to do is go and talk to brussels. i know from other meetings i have had with

foreign ministers in brussels, he would not be well received. if people in this country think it is a badge of pride to want to pick a fight with brussels, then i think thatis fight with brussels, then i think that is very unwise. the problem your man has in the eyes of conservatives as he has not set a ha rd conservatives as he has not set a hard deadline for the 31st of 0ctober, are you concerned when this goes to their conservative membership that he will be punished for that? no, ithink membership that he will be punished for that? no, i think they are realists. a lot of people try and caricature are members which i do not think is fair. there are a lot of our members who are not on the conservative... they do not feed into websites and surveys. for served —— journalist to keep on looking at conservative home to gauge the vote, that must come to an end because we will properly go to the members. it is what they do in the members. it is what they do in the ballot box that will matter. they are not easy to survey because

they are not easy to find with normal polling techniques. phone and pulling are for those who are up with the age and not all of our members are like that. we have to be careful how we analyse this, publicity is not everything. the judgment of people about who is capable and confident, and he is, thatis capable and confident, and he is, that is why i think they will go for jeremy hunt in the end and that is why we need this period for people to scrutinise the candidates in very great detail. this is a coded message to borisjohnson to get on the television and get on the debate trail? yes, he has got on the ballot by not doing much. he is safest when he is hiding, i suspect. thank you very much for your time. there are a lot of people hanging about here so we will try and grab some supporters of the other candidates as well. if you ever wonder of the gloves were

off in this race, wejust you ever wonder of the gloves were off in this race, we just heard that they are. indeed, thank you very much. that is returned to the former conservative party chairman who joins us now. we were talking to you earlier, lord patten. we have heard ten tory mps are still in the race, he had enough nominations. is this democracy in action? some people say this is not a democratic way of choosing the next prime minister. this stage is i think fine. you have to remember when it goes out to the membership of the conservative party, you are talking about a group of people which has been falling in numbers over the years, which is now quite elderly. the average age is well into the 50s. most are older than that. you are talking about a membership which is white and

affluent and middle—class, which is why borisjohnson affluent and middle—class, which is why boris johnson made affluent and middle—class, which is why borisjohnson made the egregious proposals on tax which he did today to appeal to the sort of people who are conservatives. the challenge for the conservative party is to demonstrate it is still conservative, it is not on english nationalism right—wing party, that it will save the union of the united kingdom and it still believes in free trade and a good relationship with business and that it is genuine about one nation policies, which if you load tax proposals for the rich, is not a good way of demonstrating that. so i think there is all to play for. i am sure that alan duncan was right in saying the people who are likely to go through our boris johnson, jeremy hunt and perhaps michael gove. i do not think that would be too of rory stewart who has talked the greatest saints during

this campaign. even though michael gove is the most competent of the candidates, because not necessarily of the cocaine business, it will be interesting to hear mrjohnson a nswer interesting to hear mrjohnson answer questions about his past, not necessarily because of that but because of his past views on the good friday agreement and his tendency in the past to be a new, in foreign policy. he is a very competent man. jeremy hunt is a competent man. jeremy hunt is a competent man. jeremy hunt is a competent man and did a good job with the health service. lord patten, again thank you much for your thoughts on the 20 party leadership race. we can return to those of commons. ten candidates have been confirmed ? those of commons. ten candidates have been confirmed? yes, ten candidates getting on the long list. sam gyimah pulled out this evening,

he did not have it mps backing him. the man we think it the moment is the frontrunner is boris johnson the man we think it the moment is the frontrunner is borisjohnson and i have one of his supporters with me at the moment, sir michael fallon. where is boris johnson, at the moment, sir michael fallon. where is borisjohnson, we have not seen where is borisjohnson, we have not seen much of him? he has been around, he gave a big interview yesterday to a sunday newspaper, he has been talking to colleagues, he has been talking to colleagues, he has been talking to colleagues, he has been on the hustings. all behind closed doors. there is plenty of time. members of parliament are doing the voting, there will be ple nty of doing the voting, there will be plenty of media scrutiny as this goes on. you did not hear alan duncan who is sticking the boot into his own boss, saying he is not a details man and will not be well received in brussels, is that a fear estimation or is this just a dirty campaign? that sounds a bit personal. i worked with boris johnson when he was foreign secretary, i worked with him around

the world in the international coalition regarding terrorism in the middle east, boris has arbus put the interests of britain first. how do you analyse the fact that is still ten candidates left. 0ther still too many people left to get into the nitty—gritty of issues? many people left to get into the nitty-gritty of issues? there are ten getting out of the paddock about whether they all get over the first fence, remains to be seen. the party is entitled to a wide choice. you can argue that was a mistake we made la st can argue that was a mistake we made last time, there was not a proper contest. by having a large number of contenders, the principal candidates are themselves tested. in terms of policy, borisjohnson wrote in the telegraph today about his intention of raising the threshold at which she starts paying income tax, for £50,000 to £80,000. the criticism we have heard from opponents on conservatives is that it will not

get through parliament and it is a tax cut for the rich. it is not. there are senior nurses and long serving teachers who will get dragged into the top rate of tax unless you look at the thresholds. we raise the thresholds back in 2014. boris is saying it is time to look at that again because you have over four million people paying the top rate of tax. we should not think of senior nurses or a long serving clash on teachers as being the wealthiest in society. you don't think it is pince is a high salary? at the moment it is festive. —— £80,000. it is important to keep looking at these things to make sure that people are not being unnecessarily caught by a higher tax band than they would be. as the truth not as other candidates would say, it will not get past this

parliament? changes got through in 2014. when the cases need, we should not consider public servants and in between 40 and 50,000 as the super—rich. between 40 and 50,000 as the super-rich. are not. on brexit, boris johnson's plan super-rich. are not. on brexit, borisjohnson's plan is to take the uk out of europe on the 31st of 0ctober, no matter what. uk out of europe on the 31st of 0ctober, no matterwhat. do uk out of europe on the 31st of 0ctober, no matter what. do you think that will get through parliament? he has not said no matter what. he said it would not be ideal to leave the european union without a deal. he has said he will leave without a deal. if it is absolutely necessary but there is a long way to go before that, for might months to go... as he not definitely saying we believe on the 3ist definitely saying we believe on the 31st of october? he had said so, if we do not get a satisfactory deal but there is a four months to go. it isa but there is a four months to go. it is a fresh approach by a new prime minister, if he is elected, brussels will have to adjust to that. sir

michael fallon, thank you very much. there will be a lot of that over the next few weeks. we are focusing on the broad thing —— themes at the moment. the feeling in parliament is that boris johnson moment. the feeling in parliament is that borisjohnson will be one of the last two. it is not clear who will be up against him, that will be very important for framing exactly how the brexit debate goes forward. indeed. thank you very much. all the latest interviews and news from westminster. all data has been frantic campaigning by the various contenders to be the next leader. 0ur political editor looks back at the events of the day. a wet monday morning in central london. the first official day of the rest of all of oui’ official day of the rest of all of our lives. time to meet the tribe of toadies, to be the next prime minister. i am an optimist because i

believe in people. the health secretary matt hancock. is it not optimistic to imagine you might win this race? this country needs to turn the page, move forward and have that energy and reignite politics again because frankly it has instructed her right. there are plenty of others vying for attention. believe it or not, next event is just downstairs. the man who already tried to negotiate brexit but quit over the deal is running as well. he says he would ta ke running as well. he says he would take a tougher approach. why deliver brexit with bluff and bluster? i am the conviction brexiteer with a plan, a discipline and focus to lead us plan, a discipline and focus to lead us out by the end of october. you say you can get a different deal with the eu which they have ruled out again and again, or alleviated deal, which parliament probably would not allow unless you are serious about suspending house of commons? the one thing i have not

done which other candidates have done which other candidates have done is take things off the table which weakens our negotiating leverage in brussels. the candidates have something in common, beyond being ambitious toadies, they have all held office, five are in the current cabinet, untangling the brexit miss is the biggest question for all of them. —— ambitious tories. there is no easy way through for any of them. to a packed room of the tory establishment the foreign secretary said he be trying to change the brexit deal again. we need tough negotiation, not empty rhetoric. having talks with many european leaders, i believe if we show determination, ingenuity and confidence, there is a deal to be done. he is trying to change the brexit deal again. what are european leaders thing to you privately about the possibility of a new deal that is the opposite to what they say publicly which there cannot —— which

is there cannot be a new deal?” publicly which there cannot —— which is there cannot be a new deal? i had conversations last week with emanuel micron and angela merkel. there is a willingness to engage. one says the other candidates are not being realistic. i have not heard anyone else set out a credible plan for brexit, i am the only one being honest to say we have to keep no deal on the table if we are going to leave on the 31st of october. candidates who quit the cabinet of the brexit insists it can be done. what we need now is a leader who can deliver on brexit by the end of october and tickets into the amazing future that awaits the united kingdom. she is not the only one, esther mcvey who also resigned over europe said it has to happen. the trust with the public was broken when we did not come out on the 29th of march. equally, the close of uncertainty for business and individuals has gone on with his

never—ending what obi doing? individuals has gone on with his never-ending what obi doing? people can't plan and prepare. you cannot move here today for people who want to be prime minister. upstairs the home secretary was in the middle of the pack. my colleagues and the members of the party are all listening, they are listening to the messages coming from the candidates and people decide but what they want ultimately is an election winner and i think ultimately is an election winner and ithinkl ultimately is an election winner and i think i can provide that. ultimately is an election winner and i thinki can provide that. it ultimately is an election winner and i think i can provide that. it will be tory members and mp5, not you and me who butchered next prime minister. even though this candidate is travelling old and the country making his case. i am the only person who is not making unfunded spending and tax cuts. everyone else is competing like a bizarre bonanza. michael gove. one of the candidates already made headlines, not for what she would like to do.” already made headlines, not for what she would like to do. i have a proper plan to deliver brexit. i will ensure there is a. to the

backstop, we will negotiate a canada style free trade agreements. but over his admission he took cocaine 20 years ago, questions he cannot escape. i have acknowledged i made a mistake. i also believe if you made a mistake and fell from high standards, you should reflect on your mistake. he had strong words for his formerfriend your mistake. he had strong words for his former friend borisjohnson. brexit‘s biggest cheerleader still keeping quiet. like it not, the race is still his to lose. that is go back to our political correspondence who has got the latest. hello. one of the big question is that the other brexiteers are going to have is what do they offer that boris johnson does not? we heard from sir michael fallon who is confident that his man has momentum. we will hear

from maria miller who backs dominic wrap. what has dominic raab got on the table which borisjohnson does not? we want to see the uk leaving the eu on the 31st of october. dominic raab has experience in negotiating these sort of deals and a very clear plan, far more detailed than any other candidates so the first objective is to get us out of the eu and then with forward with an emergency budget and also a clear vision of how we take our country forwards under social mobility programme which is at the heart of what the party wants. some people will be saying dominic wrap is the man who was heading to brussels every few days to try negotiate brexit dealfor months. every few days to try negotiate brexit deal for months. what is different now? as he set it in his readership launch, we need a unified cabinet. we need to have resolved

throughout the cabinet about delivering the brexit on 31st of october and not about trying to back away from that. some of the concerns we have heard other different ways in which different candidates interpret the 31st of october deadline. the businesses i talk to wa nt deadline. the businesses i talk to want the certainty to know we are leaving and they can plan for that, not seek more delay. as you know, some of your colleagues are horrified at one of the ideas that could deliver that brexit on 31st of october which is sending this place home to stop it trying to block a no—deal brexit. that is anti—democratic, is it not? no—deal brexit. that is anti-democratic, is it not? the plan is to get a withdrawal agreement, thatis is to get a withdrawal agreement, that is what dominic raab wants and that is what dominic raab wants and thatis that is what dominic raab wants and that is the plan. if we cannot get that is the plan. if we cannot get that agreement, that will be because the eu has been intransigent and have not wanted to work on some

reasonable changes the parliament here has been talking about, not just for the last weeks but last year so just for the last weeks but last year so we just for the last weeks but last year so we need to make sure we can get those changes in place. any negotiator knows that you're only going to get the best deal if you keep your powder dry. if we keep everything on the table and we should be doing that. good negotiation tactics are at play. that is the pitch for your man. we know there are ten candidates. we had alan duncan earlier thing that is too many, had easier playing out over the next few weeks? the 1922 committee have already decided that on thursday we will radically reduce that number of candidates. there is a threshold of 16 that people have got to get in terms of votes to be able to stay within the game and i think there will be a number of people who will follow that first hurdle and that will thin the field.

it is no bad thing to have ideas and have people fizzing with ideas at the stage. the country deserve that. it is good to hear different approaches to how we need the eu as well. maria miller, backing dominic raab, thank you so much. there was one candidate this evening who pulled out of the race because he did not have enough support. he is just here, we will try and grab sam gyimah to get him to explain. he needed the backing of eight mps and we don't think he was going to get that. here he is now, thank you for joining us. what went wrong? nothing went wrong. i entered the race over a week ago and it became apparent but i did not have enough time to build support, given that a lot of candidates had been planning for a long time. my purpose in the first place was to make sure the ideas of

millions of british people on the issue brexit were brought to the front. i think i achieved that during the race. i will continue doing that outside the contest but it was not going to happen because i could not build the support. some people say you are the only person who wanted another referendum and you could not get the backing of eight mps. your party will not get on board with that. it was notjust the nomination but support you need going forward. there are new rules introduced and there are cut—off points. there was more support there, 15% of mp3 example voted for a referendum. entering the race late meant a lot to it already committed to other candidates. —— 50% of mps. soi to other candidates. —— 50% of mps. so i would not take this as a redux was for the referendum. whoever is prime minister will face the same

problems that theresa may faced. u nless problems that theresa may faced. unless they do something different, nothing will change. i advocated a referendum as a way to break the deadlock. the new prime minister will have to confront that reality. will you back someone else in this race? of course i will use my vote but i have not decided yet. is it someone on your wing but i have not decided yet. is it someone on your wing of the party when it comes to brexit? the issue for me is not a wing of the party but leadership. the country is crying out for leadership, someone who will deal with the realities of brexit and be able to lead our party and the country. that is what i will be looking for fundamentally. we cannot allow this contest to be space for a cosy chat on issues that only conservatives cared about. the country is looking to the conservative party to deliver a solution to brexit and move onto other things. i will be looking for someone other things. i will be looking for someone to do that and notjust the

rhetoric. once you have decided, we will get you back on to tell is who you are supporting. ten candidates now going forward, there will be another range of votes on thursday. candidates will need the backing of 17 mp5, the following tuesday it is 33 so there is a large field at the moment and a lot of issues on the table. that will be whittled down quickly. within the next couple of weeks we will have a much better idea of who the final two will be. it is like watching the grand national. thank you very much, nick ea rd ley, national. thank you very much, nick eardley, a political correspondent. this is down to ten, sam gyimah has pulled out. that is take back for another look at that announcement need a few minutes ago by the joint acting chair of the backbench conservative 1922 committee when she announced the contenders going

forward. we have received the following ballot nominations and in alphabetical order they are michael gove. proposer george eustice and nick morgan. matt hancock, propose a damian green and tracey crouch. mark harper, proposer jacket damian green and tracey crouch. mark harper, proposerjacket price. jeremy hunt, the proposer is doctor liam fox and the second is sir patrick mcloughlin. sajid javid, the proposer is robert halfon and the second is victoria atkins. boris johnson, who is proposed by elizabeth truss and seconded by ben wallace. andrea leadsom who has been proposed by chris heaton—harris and seconded by heather wheeler. esther

mcvey who has been proposed by sir gary streeter and seconded by ben bradley. dominic raab, the proposer is david davis and the seconder is maria miller. and lastly, rory stewart, the proposer is david hawke and the seconder is victoria prentis. that means there are ten valet nominations. so that was the announcement of the ten contenders who have been confirmed as being in the race for the leadership of the conservative party to be prime minister. 0n conservative party to be prime minister. on tuesday the 18th of june bbc will be hosting a live election hustings between the ten leadership candidates. their debate will be shipped by your questions. we ask you to submit them in advance. so e—mail your question. to include your name and contact number

if you're