When does Boris Johnson leave office and when will a new prime minister be picked?

he Tory leadership race for a new leader following Boris Johnson’s dramatic resignation is almost over.

Either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, the final two candidates hoping to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, will soon take over the top job.

But when will the new prime minister be announced and how will it happen?

Here are the key dates and stages in the race to Number 10.

What is the hustings schedule?

There are a total of 12 hustings organised by the party across the UK Tory members, who will put questions to the candidates.

Most have already taken place, in Leeds, Exeter, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Darlington, Cheltenham, Manchester, Perth, Belfast, Birmingham, and Norwich.

The final event will take place in London on Wednesday, August 31.

What are hustings?

A hustings is a meeting where election candidates or parties debate policies and answer questions from the audience, according to The Electoral Commission.

What is the voting process?

The voting process takes part in two stages.

In stage one, Conservative MPs choose two candidates to put forward to stage two. This takes place through a series of votes, and is how the field has been narrowed down to Truss and Sunak. Those who were eliminated from the contest during this stage were:

Penny Mordaunt
Kemi Badenoch
Tom Tugendhat
Suella Braverman
Jeremy Hunt
Nadhim Zahawi

In stage two, the two MPs selected face a ballot of Conservative Party members, with each member voting only once.

Ballots were sent to members via post between August 1 and August 5. The vote closes at 5pm on Friday, September 2.

The candidate who receives the most votes wins and will become the next prime minister.

When will the next TV interviews be taking place?

Tory leadership frontrunner Truss cancelled her interview with BBC’s Nick Robinson. She was due to sit down for a one-to-one talk on Tuesday, August 30, but cancelled her appearance.

Her rival in the race, Sunak, was interviewed by Robinson on August 10.

When will the new prime minister be announced?

The result is due to be announced on Monday, September 5. The new prime minister will be announced at 12.30pm in Westminster, in front of MPs and peers.

When will Boris Johnson leave office?

The Queen will appoint the new prime minister from Scotland for the first time, the Palace confirmed on Wednesday,

Boris Johnson will be received at the monarch’s Balmoral Estate on Tuesday, September 6, as his final engagement as prime minister.