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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mark Harper announces Conservative party leadership bid | Mark Harper announces Conservative party leadership bid |
| (5 days later) | |
| The former immigration minister and chief whip Mark Harper has become the 12th Conservative MP to declare his candidacy for the party’s leadership. | The former immigration minister and chief whip Mark Harper has become the 12th Conservative MP to declare his candidacy for the party’s leadership. |
| Harper was behind the controversial “go-home” vans when working under Theresa May at the Home Office. He resigned as immigration minister in 2014 after it emerged he was employing a cleaner who did not have permission to work in the UK. He later served as David Cameron’s chief whip. | Harper was behind the controversial “go-home” vans when working under Theresa May at the Home Office. He resigned as immigration minister in 2014 after it emerged he was employing a cleaner who did not have permission to work in the UK. He later served as David Cameron’s chief whip. |
| But he has not served in Theresa May’s government and has, therefore, sought to cast himself as the candidate who offers “fresh thinking”. | But he has not served in Theresa May’s government and has, therefore, sought to cast himself as the candidate who offers “fresh thinking”. |
| Tory leadership race: the favourites to replace May | Tory leadership race: the favourites to replace May |
| “We’ve seen basically the same faces saying the same things that they’ve been saying for the last three years. A number of them have tried to position themselves as fresh faces but I’m afraid they’ve sat around the cabinet table sharing the responsibility with the prime minister,” he told the Daily Telegraph. | “We’ve seen basically the same faces saying the same things that they’ve been saying for the last three years. A number of them have tried to position themselves as fresh faces but I’m afraid they’ve sat around the cabinet table sharing the responsibility with the prime minister,” he told the Daily Telegraph. |
| Harper pledged a new approach to leading the party if elected, including engaging in greater consultation with the Irish government and his Tory colleagues over Brexit. | Harper pledged a new approach to leading the party if elected, including engaging in greater consultation with the Irish government and his Tory colleagues over Brexit. |
| He said he was “quite happy to acknowledge that, in this contest, I am the underdog”. | He said he was “quite happy to acknowledge that, in this contest, I am the underdog”. |
| A Conservative leadership contest takes two stages. First, MPs vote for their choice from the nominated candidates. In progressive rounds of voting, candidates are eliminated until there are only two challengers remaining. The second stage is a postal ballot of Conservative party members to chose one of the two candidates. | |
| Theresa May's formal resignation as leader is expected on 7 June, triggering the contest. The Conservative party have set out the following timetable: | |
| Nominations close on 10 June. The first round of voting will be held on Thursday 13 June, from 10am to noon. Subsequent rounds have been pencilled in for the 18th, 19th and 20th. | |
| Conservative party HQ says the postal vote element, when the 120,000 or so party member will pick the country's new prime minister, will be completed in the week beginning Monday 22 July. | |
| Harper campaigned for remain in 2016 and he suggested a further delay to Brexit beyond 31 October could be needed if the next prime minister wanted to renegotiate the deal – something some of his rivals have already ruled out. | Harper campaigned for remain in 2016 and he suggested a further delay to Brexit beyond 31 October could be needed if the next prime minister wanted to renegotiate the deal – something some of his rivals have already ruled out. |
| Esther McVey has said the UK needs to “actively embrace leaving the EU without a deal”, while Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab have both said they would work to renegotiate the terms on offer with Brussels but would make sure the UK leaves on 31 October, with or without an agreement. | Esther McVey has said the UK needs to “actively embrace leaving the EU without a deal”, while Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab have both said they would work to renegotiate the terms on offer with Brussels but would make sure the UK leaves on 31 October, with or without an agreement. |
| Paying tribute to him when he resigned as a junior minister in her Home Office in 2014, May said Harper could be “proud of the role he has played in sharply reducing immigration to Britain”. | Paying tribute to him when he resigned as a junior minister in her Home Office in 2014, May said Harper could be “proud of the role he has played in sharply reducing immigration to Britain”. |
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