The Glass Cliff in Crisis-driven Leadership Contests of the Contemporary British Conservative Party

What type of leaders emerge from party leadership contests held during political crisis? Multiple crises – the Brexit referendum, negotiating a Brexit deal, Covid-19, and post-Covid financial instability – have plagued Britain’s leaders in and outside the government. The resignation of five successive prime ministers and leaders of Britain’s Conservative Party between 2016 and 2024 resulted in the ascension of two ethnic majority women, one ethnic majority man, one ethnic minority man, and one ethnic minority woman to the party’s top political post. We argue that the nature of a crisis – specifically whether it is internally-induced and the presence of an external audience – is critical to understanding this outcome, and draw on the Party’s hybrid ballot process to show how this increase in diversity occurs. We also underscore the gendered and ethnic implications of pushing non-traditional leadership candidates into roles that place them atop one of the highest glass cliffs in politics.