A Privy Council meeting will be held at which the new PM and other Ministers will be sworn. Some politicians will cease to be members of the government, new faces will emerge, others will move to new portfolios, others may stay in post. (Note - a Privy Council meeting at which new Ministers were sworn was held on 13 September 2022 at Buckingham Palace - List of Business - 13th September 2022 (independent.gov.uk)).
The Conservative Party is likely to try to rebrand its image and present itself as if, politically, the World begins today: a post-Johnson era. In reality it will remain the same party with mostly the same policies even if some of the wrapping changes. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - the more that changes, the more it's the same thing. Many policies will continue such as seeking to limit our ability to protect human rights and to protest.
In early July, Conservative politicians ousted Johnson. In several ways, he was the author of his own misfortune - Law and Lawyers: Johnson announces his departure - 8 July 2022
A party leadership contest followed with MPs whittling the number of candidates from 11 to a final 2 - Rishi Sunak and Elizabeth Truss. Party members then voted to make the final choice.
In the final ballot of MPs, Rishi Sunak got 137 votes, Elizabeth Truss 113, and Penny Mordaunt 105. Had the matter been solely down to Conservative MPs, Sunak would have become party leader and PM.
Elizabeth Mary Truss:
Elizabeth Truss is MP for South West Norfolk. She has held this safe seat since 2010. Last election result for Elizabeth Truss - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament. See her voting record - Voting record - Elizabeth Truss MP, South West Norfolk - TheyWorkForYou
In her attempt to get the votes of the party faithful, she made several statements during the campaign demonstrating a needlessly confrontational style. For instance, Scotland's First Minister was an “attention seeker” who ought to be ignored. She adopted an "hawkish" attitude toward China. Her many campaign statements are set out by Politico - The Liz Truss Manifesto – POLITICO
Many lawyers will recall that Truss, as Lord Chancellor, offered only a belated defence of judicial independence when the Daily Mail published its infamous "Enemies of the People" article - Law and Lawyers: A jewel beyond price (obiterj.blogspot.com)
How long will the new PM be in post:
The PM will serve until either loss of a general election or resignation.
It is entirely possible that Johnson's supporters will seek to oust the new leader - Tory MPs ‘plotting leadership vote before Christmas’ to bring back Boris Johnson | The Independent
The 2022 Act:
A general election may now be "called" under the terms of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022. The "long stop" in the Act is that - "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met."
That results in a date of 17 December 2024 - General elections - UK Parliament
Dissolution of Parliament brings about a general election. The current PM and government remain in office during an election campaign.
Leadership Contests:
Purdah-lite -
The lengthy (almost 8 weeks) leadership contest - (effectively a Club choosing the Prime Minister) - created a sort of semi-paralysis of government.
The centralised nature of the government was revealed with Ministers having to refer many decisions to No 10 Downing Street. The incumbent Prime Minister has been unwilling to make key decisions pending the choice of his successor.
In effect, there has been a sort of "Purdah-lite" on the government - (see Restrictions on government activity during an election campaign | The Institute for Government). This has been unfortunate given the concerns over inflation and rising energy costs which are becoming unaffordable for many households and businesses.
Selection process -
Naturally, there is a process in every political party for choosing new leaders and the present-day processes usually involve party members. It has been argued that such involvement is not good for democracy since party members are inevitably a small sector of the electorate as a whole. See, for example, this piece written in 2020 when the Labour Party was selecting a new leader to replace Jeremy Corbyn - Why a central role for party members in leadership elections is bad for parliamentary democracy | The Constitution Unit Blog (constitution-unit.com)
Seven PMs have died in office, the last being Viscount Palmerston in 1865. Others have resigned for various reasons: Neville Chamberlain (1940), Winston Churchill (1955), Anthony Eden (1957), Harold Macmillan (1963), Margaret Thatcher (1990), Tony Blair (2007), Gordon Brown (2010), David Cameron (2016), Theresa May (2019) and Boris Johnson (2022).
It may be ridiculous to automatically require a general election if a PM resigned for reasons such as ill-health but the argument for a general election is much stronger where a PM is forced out by his own MPs in the middle of a 5 year Parliament.
Here we see a marked difference between the legal constitutional position and the political reality of general elections.
Under the UK's parliamentary democracy, a general election elects constituency MPs who then form the House of Commons. It does not elect a government let alone a Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is then appointed by HM The Queen and, by convention, the individual most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons is appointed - (normally the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the Commons).
It is a moot point whether Truss can be said to command the confidence of the House given that the final ballot of Conservative MPs favoured Sunak and not Truss. (She can hardly have the support of Opposition parties).
Once appointed, the new PM goes about appointing members of the government - e.g. Chancellor the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Defence Secretary, Lord Chancellor / Justice Secretary, Attorney General and so on.
Whilst that is the constitutional position, the majority of voters cast their ballots for the party they wish to see in government and, for many, the personality of the Party Leader is crucial.
In 2019, there can be little doubt that Boris Johnson attracted voters with his confident showman-style personality and promise to "Get Brexit Done" and many did want it "done" after seeing the interminable shenanigans over the years following the 2016 referendum. In reality, although there is a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Brexit is far from "done" as is clear from matters such as the continual problems over the Northern Ireland Protocol (a part of the Withdrawal Agreement).
The process we have seen this summer fits within the constitutional position but goes against the political reality of why people vote for a particular party.
At the very least, there is a good argument for shortening leadership selection processes and confining the choice to those who are serving MPs in the House of Commons. The latter would make them individually accountable to the electorate for the choice they make.
A modern-day Prime Minister wields enormous executive power. The way in which they reach the pinnacle of our politics is therefore crucial. Leaving the choice to political party members effectively prevented the vast majority of the electorate from having a say in who became PM.
The present processes are unsatisfactory and most voters will have to await the next general election to express their view.
The links below refer to the leadership election processes for mainstream parties at Westminster.
Notes:
Leadership Elections: Conservative Party - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
Leadership Elections: Labour Party - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk)
Leadership Elections: Liberal Democrats (parliament.uk)
Liz Truss to be new prime minister - live-blog | The Institute for Government
*** UPDATE 20 OCTOBER 2022 ***
Conservative Party politicians persuaded Truss that she should resign as Prime Minister. She announced her resignation in the early afternoon.
The Truss tenure as Prime Minister is the shortest in British history. Because of the so-called "mini-budget" of 23 September 2022, it has also been one of the most damaging economically. Truss appointed Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer but there can be no doubt that he and Truss were in "lock-step" over the budget. Nonetheless, Truss dismissed Kwarteng, appointed Jeremy Hunt as his replacement, and then attempted to continue as Prime Minister. On 19 October, Suella Braverman resigned as Home Secretary and did so by way of a letter critical of Truss.
A new Conservative Party Leader will be chosen under a process altered from that used during the summer of 2022.
According to constitutional convention, King Charles III will appoint as Prime Minister the winner of that contest.
In 2019, assisted by the first past the post electoral system, the Conservative party gained a large majority in the House of Commons.
On that basis, the party considers that it remains entitled to form the government of the nation.
As a matter of law, they are so entitled but a system that enables changes of Prime Minister to be made without recourse to a general election is increasingly under question.
The Leader of the Opposition - Sir Keir Starmer - called for a general election and commented that the Conservatives do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment. "Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish."
Tory leadership race: what happens next? | Conservative leadership | The Guardian
Rodney Brazier: No Way to Pick a PM – UK Constitutional Law Association
*** UPDATE 25 October 2022 ***
Truss continued as Prime Minister whilst the Conservative Party chose a new leader. Penny Mordaunt (Leader of the House of Commons) was perhaps the principal challenger to Rishi Sunak. Boris Johnson returned from a holiday but later withdrew. Mordaunt withdrew on 24 October. The party's 1922 Committee then declared Sunak to be the new party leader.
On 25 October, Truss went to Buckingham Palace and resigned. HM King Charles III then appointed Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister.
By the morning of 26 October 2022 a new Cabinet had been formed - Rishi Sunak’s cabinet: Who is in the prime minister’s top team? - BBC News
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