Rishi Sunak is understood to have told MPs he has no plans to leave for California and will do all he can to facilitate a smooth leadership transition. Sunak has moved into the offices of the leader of the opposition in Portcullis House and chaired his first shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He took his place on the opposition benches for the election of the Commons speaker, when he congratulated Keir Starmer, saying it was a “formidable task” and that they “argued vigorously … but still respect each other”. Sunak said: “To be sent to this place by our constituencies is the greatest honour and responsibility”, and said he looked forward to continuing to represent Richmond and Northallerton. He said they would take on opposition duty “respectfully, professionally and humbly”.
Allies of the former prime minister said he was keen to strongly counter any rumours that he was eager to abandon the party in favour of a life over the Atlantic. Sunak paid particular tribute to his own constituency, where the result made him the safest Conservative MP in the country. Conservative MPs met on Tuesday to begin the process of electing a new 1922 Committee of backbenchers, which will set the timetable for a leadership election. The two remaining members of the committee – Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bob Blackman – will go head-to-head in a bid to chair the powerful body, which was previously headed by Sir Graham Brady. Senior Conservative sources said there was a broad consensus that MPs did want a longer contest, which was likely to mean there would be no new leader in place by party conference. “The herd is very much for going long,” said one.
It is likely to mean an interim leader is needed, though some MPs and other Tories believe that would leave a risky gap for Nigel Farage and Reform. Others have warned it will give Labour an opportunity to set the narrative of the parliament, blaming all misfortunes on the past Conservative government. “We saw how effective that was in 2010 when we could do that to Ed Miliband,” another Tory said. The new backbench committee will also consider whether any new rules will be required for the leadership contest, including whether candidates must reach a threshold of nominations to be on the ballot. The size of the parliamentary Conservative party means that the threshold for a leadership challenge is very low – only 18 MPs would need to submit a no confidence motion in order to spark a vote among the remaining 121 MPs.