UK Conservative Party agree leadership election rules to reduce numbers: Sky

UK Conservative Party agree leadership election rules to reduce numbers: Sky

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's governing Conservative Party agreed its rules for a new leadership contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, Sky News reported, including measures to eliminate candidates more quickly from a crowded race.

May is due to resign as leader of the Conservatives on Friday, but will remain prime minister until a successor is appointed - a process which the party has said should be completed by the end of July.

Whoever takes over will inherit a deadlocked parliament and a divided nation, with little time to find a way to deliver a deal on Britain's exit from the European Union before the country is due to leave on Oct. 31.

The party's influential 1922 Committee, which represents Conservative lawmakers, was reported to have agreed that those wanting the job would need the support of eight lawmakers to enter - a higher threshold than in previous contests.

They would then require candidates to win 5% of a vote among lawmakers to get through the first round. A second ballot would require 10% of votes and then the least popular candidate is eliminated in successive rounds of voting.

The final candidates would then be put to the party's 160,000 or so members nationwide in a postal vote which will decide Britain's next prime minister.

The rules provide the party with a way to whittle down the 11 candidates - reduced from 13 on Tuesday when two withdrew - running for the position more quickly and put an end to the uncertainty triggered by May's resignation over her failure to deliver Brexit on time.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and by William James; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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