Beluzia

[Intruder Emerald]

Scotty Clement elected Leader of the Conservative Party as early election called

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Scotty Clement has been elected leader of the Conservative Party winning a sizeable 67% of the membership vote. His challenger, Stephen Causey, got 33%. Clement was not the favourite to be the leader before the contest, with Kim Lewis being the frontrunner however Clement was able to gain a coalition of Conservative MPs from different wings of the party to put himself in the final two. When it came to the wider membership vote, Clement was seen as the "change candidate", whereas Causey was widely viewed as a continuation of Rounds' legacy.

The full results:
First round:
Stephen Causey - 8
Scotty Clement - 7
Kim Lewis - 5
Andrew Bridson - 4

Second Round:
Scotty Clement - 9
Stephen Causey - 8
Kim Lewis - 7

Membership vote:
Scotty Clement - 67%
Stephen Causey - 33%

This followed Julius Rounds losing a confidence vote among Conservative MPs by 15 votes to 12. Scotty Clement has argued that the party needs to be more socially conservative, whilst also recognising the majority of Beluzians have rejected the Conservatives economic platform.

The party was polling as low as 0.3% however this has now recovered. Clement now has to fight a general election with less than a month's preparation, and he will be hoping the Conservatives can clear the 3% threshold and retain seats in the Quaiyl.