There are many people you entrust with your life, vital interests and future. Surgeons. Airline pilots. Financial advisers. Bosses.

How about 124,000 slightly dotty members of the Conservative Party, that stout body of patriotic men and women of famously considered judgement, moderate views and willingness always to “see the other side” of an argument? Especially when it comes to Britain’s future in Europe. That’s 124,000 out of the 47 million or so people that comprise the British electorate – about a quarter of 1 per cent. One in 400 of us will have any say in the election of a new PM at a crucial moment in our island’s story. Some democracy. Now we know what “taking back control” means. Yes, control of the country by a minute Tory clique.

For it is they who will be doing the choosing between the two candidates that Conservative MPs will throw out to a national ballot, after they’ve sorted the frontrunners from among the current 17 to 20 potential candidates. Thus it is that relatively small number of mostly hard-right Europe-hating, eccentric individuals who will be determining who gets into Number 10, leads the UK’s doomed renegotiation of the Brexit deal, and threatens the rest of the country with a no-deal Brexit and the worst recession in a generation.

Yes, them.

Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Show all 9 1 /9 Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Boris Johnson Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has long been hopeful, he previously stood in the leadership contest that followed the Brexit vote and has at many times since been thought to be maneuvering himself towards the goal. He remains a darling of the party's right wing, particularly those in the ERG, and is the most popular choice among Tory voters but his leadership bid would be fiercely opposed by many MPs PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Michael Gove Environment secretary Michael Gove is another member who has long wanted to be leader. He has lately been known for rousing his party in the commons, his recent speeches on the Brexit deal and Labour's no confidence motion have overshadowed the Prime Minister's. He has been loyal to the Prime Minister, partly to shed his reputation as a backstabber who abandoned Boris Johnson to stand against him in the 2016 leadership election Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Dominic Raab Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has emerged as a favourite to be the Brexiteer candidate in a contest to succeed to Ms May. He displayed a grip on detail in his role as Brexit secretary. When asked recently if he would like to become prime minister he replied "never say never" Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Rory Stewart International development secretary Rory Stewart is pitching himself as the sensible candidate, promising to rule out both a second referendum and a no-deal Brexit. He was only recently promoted to the cabinet, previously serving as prisons minister, where he caught headlines with a pledge to resign if he could not reduce levels of violence within a year PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Esther McVey The former work and pensions secretary announced that she will be standing for the leadership when May leaves. McVey is the first to explicitly state that she intends to stand. She resigned from the cabinet in protest over May's Brexit deal AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Sajid Javid Home secretary Sajid Javid is said to have a plan in place for a leadership race. He made headlines over Christmas when he declared that people smuggling over the English channel was a "major incident" and more recently when he revoked the citizenship of ISIS bride Shamima Begum. Son of a bus driver, he wants the Conservatives to be seen as the party of social mobility PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Jeremy Hunt Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt was recently thought to be the favourite in the event of a leadership race as he could sell himself as the man to unite the party. Critics worry that his long stint as health secretary could return to haunt him at a general election. He has reportedly been holding meetings with Tory MPs over breakfast to promote his leadership PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Andrea Leadsom Following the Prime Minister's second defeat over her Brexit deal, Leader of the house Andrea Leadsom hosted a dinner party at which "leadership was the only topic of conversation", The Times heard. Leadsom ran against Theresa May in the 2016 leadership election before dropping out, allowing May to become Prime Minister AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Priti Patel Former international development secretary Priti Patel is thought to be positioning herself as a contender. One MP told The Independent "she knows she's from the right of the party, the part which is going to choose the next leader, so she's reminding everyone she's there." Patel left the government late in 2017 after it emerged that she had held undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials PA

Who are they? Well, they are few indeed. Of that 124,000 or so, some will fail to vote. The last time the Conservatives actually had a proper leadership election in 2005, about two-thirds of them did so, when 198,844 posted their ballots and chose David Cameron ahead of David Davis by 134,446 to 64,398 and in due course Mr Cameron became PM and told them to stop “banging on about Europe”. And we know how well all that turned out.

So if the Conservative membership turnout is about 60 per cent for the Tory grassroots, that brings the proportion down to around 0.1 per cent – one in a thousand British adult citizens.

Of those, of course many have already made their minds up that the conference darling, the Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP, is their choice, and they care not what he gets up to in his private life. There will though be a proportion who will be swaying between, say, Boris and Dominic Raab, who is like a smaller, bullet-headed, more intense version of Boris. These Tory membership “swing” voters might be as few as 20,000. In which case, the number of British citizens deciding who our next PM will be about the same as the population of Berkhamsted.

That might not matter, in a sense, if they were a representative sample. We all know that Tory members are anything but. The average age is, according to Full Fact, approximately 57. Nothing wrong with that; but let’s just say BAME and millennials are under-represented. As are Scots, public sector workers, people who live in cities…