History of the Conservative Party (UK) Foreign affairs select committee described the lack of planning as "gross negligence" which made his successor's task much more difficult. In July 2016 Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as Tory Leader and Prime Minister following Andrea Leadsom's withdrawal from the leadership contest. She is the second woman to lead the party and subsequently the second female Prime Minister, following Margaret Thatcher. With the support of 199/320 Conservative MPs, May was seen as the most experienced figure who could unite the party after a bitter campaign in which Michael Gove, a supporter and running mate of Boris Johnson, publicly declared Johnson
1975 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election candidate to have a lead of 15% over their nearest rival was modified so that this would now be 15% of the total number of MPs, not just those voting for candidates. Following the review, Heath called a leadership election for 4 February 1975, in order to assert his authority as leader of the party. Many expected the contest to be a walkover, believing there was no clear alternative to Heath after Keith Joseph had ruled himself out following controversial remarks calling on poor people to have fewer children and William Whitelaw had pledged loyalty to Heath. Many other shadow