The first MP ballot was held on 13 July. Under the new rules enacted for the election, candidates would need to have at least 30 votes from MPs to avoid dropping out, eliminating Health and Social Care Select Committee chair and current Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt and current Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi, who accrued 18 and 25 MP votes respectively. In each subsequent round, beginning with the second on 14 July, the candidate with the fewest votes were to be eliminated. The third ballot took place on Monday 18 July, to eliminate one more candidate, and results were announced at 8 pm. The fourth ballot, reducing the field to three, was held on 19 July, with results presented at 3 pm, and the fifth on 20 July, with the final two names known at 4 pm. Finally, with only two candidates remaining, Conservative Party members were to vote to choose the next party leader on a one-member-one-vote basis, with the candidate receiving the majority of the votes winning.
