Ten candidates will contest the election to become the University of Cambridge’s next chancellor.

Among those approved to stand in July’s ballot are broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, former Labour culture minister Chris Smith, ex-BP boss John Browne and businesswoman Gina Miller.

They are joined by Queens’ College president Mohamed El-Erian, education professor Tony Booth, former Treasury adviser Ali Azeem, research impact consultant Mark Mann, business consultant Ayham Ammora and Cambridge astronomy professor Wyn Evans.

In a statement unveiling the , the university said more than 34,500 people had registered to vote online, while “several thousand more” are expected to exercise their right to vote in person at the Senate House, for which advance registration is not necessary.

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It is the first time in the university’s 806-year history that alumni have been allowed to vote remotely. Voters will use a single transferable vote system, in which they can rank as many of the candidates as they choose.

The successful candidate will be announced in the week beginning 21 July, with their non-renewable term lasting 10 years.

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Unlike the University of Oxford’s recent chancellor’s contest, which allowed candidates to nominate themselves, those wishing to succeed Cambridge’s present chancellor David Sainsbury were required to obtain at least 50 nominations from alumni, resulting in a smaller field.

However, there is no obvious front-runner in the contest to become the university’s formal and , who, while having no executive responsibilities, is expected to play a vital part in Cambridge’s public-facing activities, fundraising, and provide advice to senior members of the university.

At present, the of El-Erian is seen as the best organised, with the Cambridge-educated economist gaining support from Queens’ alumni writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry, journalist Emily Maitlis and DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis, as well as former prime minister Gordon Brown.

His campaign may be held back by a lack of name recognition beyond academia, though that issue is likely to affect most candidates in the race, which lacks the prominent figures such as William Hague and Peter Mandelson who stood in Oxford’s election.

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The race’s most famous candidate, former Great British Bake Off presenter Toksvig, does not have this problem but it is understood some Cambridge dons have privately expressed concerns about a TV personality taking the role previously held by prime ministers and Nobel laureates.

A tweet  also provoked several responses focused on her stance on trans issues.

She was a co-founder of the now-defunct , which supported gender self-identification, a policy on which universities are currently grappling following a Supreme Court ruling which found public bodies should consider sex to refer to biological sex.

The only other woman in the field – Gina Miller – has been tipped by some to win, partly on account of the goodwill among largely Remain-supporting Cambridge alumni over her high-profile legal campaign in 2019 to stop Brexit.

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“She has no connections to Cambridge University but she is arguably a figure of some historical significance,” said one academic.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com