The Conservatives will elect their new leader in November after the party agreed to an extended timetable to replace Rishi Sunak. Four Conservative MPs will be shortlisted by the parliamentary party to make their pitch to colleagues and members at party conference in October. Sunak will remain acting leader until his successor is agreed. Among those said to be preparing to throw their hats into the ring are Kemi Badenoch, the shadow communities secretary; James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary; Tom Tugendhat, the shadow security minister; and Priti Patel, Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick. The timetable was agreed after a series of meetings of the Conservative party board and the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, where there were contrasting views about how long the leadership election should be. “People argued we shouldn’t have a leadership election until next year, others wanted [Sunak] to go immediately,” one Tory involved in the discussions said. The source said the agreed timetable was a “compromise”. Those who had been pushing for a speedy timetable with a new leader elected by September argued that the alternative would allow Labour to set the narrative and Nigel Farage to position himself as the opposition leader.
A senior Tory said the agreed November timetable was a “foolish decision, which hands Starmer the next election on a plate. An act of pure self-indulgence which maximises internal conflict to allow a few media-hungry types to blather on the broadcast media for a little longer before fading into irrelevance. Farage will be cock-a-hoop.” Badenoch is widely seen as the frontrunner, with polling suggesting she is the most popular candidate among grassroots membership. However, the extended timetable opens up the race by giving other candidates the opportunity to make an impression. Two influential former MPs from different wings of the Conservative party – Damian Green and Steve Baker – endorsed Tugendhat over the weekend. Prospective candidates will need a proposer, a seconder and eight nominations to proceed to the ballot by MPs. Nominations open on 24 July and close on 29 July. The parliamentary party will shortlist four candidates in September, who will make their case to grassroots members at Tory conference in early October. Conservative MPs will then whittle the list down to the final two candidates, and Tory members will elect the winner. The members’ ballot will close on 31 October and the result will be announced on 2 November. Only those who have been party members for at least 90 days before voting concludes will be eligible to vote. Bob Blackman, the chair of the 1922 Committee, will act as returning officer for the election. Once the parliamentary process is completed, Conservative campaign headquarters will oversee the vote by members, which will be conducted online. Sunak said it was “in the national interest for us to have a smooth and orderly transition to a new leader” and that the timetable agreed would “allow for a thoughtful, professional and respectful contest”. Blackman said the country and Tory members “want to see us engaged in proper debate not personal attacks”. Richard Fuller, a Tory MP and chair of the party, said the process agreed “has party members at its heart”. “Party conference will be a great opportunity for our hard-working volunteers to meet the leading candidates and make their views known to MPs before the final two candidates are put to a final vote by party members.”