Conservative leadership candidates will be forced to agree in writing not to withdraw from the race if they are among the last two names put to a vote by party members, under new plans to stop MPs deciding who will be the next prime minister.
Senior Tories are desperate to stop one of the candidates pulling out of the race, as Ms Andrea Leadsom did in 2016, handing the undisputed leadership to overwhelming favorite Theresa May before members had a chance to vote.
The Telegraph understands that the leadership rules, due to be agreed on Monday, include a “Leadsom clause”, which would see any candidate making it to the bottom two be subject to a vote by party members.
A senior party source said each candidate would have to agree that “it should go to the members’ vote if you get down to the bottom two” when entering the race.
The next Conservative leader is chosen through a process initially run by MPs before the final two are put in front of 200,000 party members to choose a winner.
The hope is that rules agreed on Monday by both the 1922 party’s governing committee and the board will allow the leadership field to be narrowed quickly to a handful of Conservative candidates by the weekend.
A senior Tory MP said the selection process had to be shortened due to MPs starting their summer break at the end of next week.
This meant there was a “big disadvantage for fringe candidates” compared to household names. “Some of them are not even household names in their own houses,” one senior Tory told the Telegraph.
Newly appointed Foreign Secretary Rehman Chishti announced on Sunday evening that he is running, becoming the 11th candidate to contest the Tory leadership.
Mr Chishti, MP for Gillingham and Rainham since 2010, promised to bring “fresh ideas” and a brand of “ambitious conservatism”.
What are the 1922 committee management rules?
Nominations must be sent to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman since 1922, by 6pm today. The first hurdle is the lowest: each candidate must receive the support of 20 people’s representatives – that is, 18 deputies, one petitioner and one second – to enter the race.
Voting is due to start on Wednesday 13 July after Prime Minister’s Questions in one of the committee rooms in the committee corridor and run from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, with the result to be announced early in the evening.
MPs cast their ballots in the historic 1922 metal box marked ‘CCO’ under the watchful eye of Sir Graham and other 1922 board members who will ensure the vote is fair. Voting by proxy is permitted for those colleagues who cannot vote in person.
The bar to stay in the race now increases. Deputies with the support of less than 10 percent of the parliamentary party – 36 people’s representatives – will have to drop out.
The field thins before the second round
MPs predict it will spark frenzied horse-trading on Wednesday night and into Thursday, ahead of the day’s second round of voting.
Candidates who remain in the field will court rivals who have been forced to withdraw and try to win their endorsement and hopefully the support of the lawmakers who backed them.
To add to the intrigue, the 1922 committee is considering an early fight on Wednesday night to give the backbench a chance to incinerate their future leader.
The second round of voting is on Thursday, July 14, when the last leadership contender is automatically eliminated.
Can the rules change?
One idea to be discussed by the 1922 committee on Monday is to increase the threshold at which a candidate must withdraw from 10 percent to 15 percent to whittle down the list of candidates more quickly.
After Thursday’s second vote, there will be a three-day break before MPs get a chance to debate the candidates on their policies on a “Super Monday” election.
Three groups of arrests are planned for Monday 18 July – one from the 1922 committee and open to all Tory MPs, one from the 92 group of senior Tory MPs and one from the anti-Common Sense awakening group.
The next rounds of voting are scheduled for Tuesday, July 19, when there may be one or two votes depending on the number of remaining candidates.
The last day to vote is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20.
Party bosses hope to have two candidates left in the process by Thursday, July 21.
The clash begins
Conservative party head office officials then took over and organized a series of battles in the party’s regional bases across the country for members to incinerate the two remaining contenders.
The competitions – which in 2019 took place in places including Belfast, York, Darlington, Perth, Nottingham and Cardiff – will allow thousands of voting members to challenge the final two.
Tory members will be encouraged to vote for their choice to be leader by post until the end of August.
The winner will be announced on Monday, September 5th.
The new Conservative leader and Prime Minister will have two days to prepare for his first meeting with Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday 7 September.
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