The chairman of the 1922 committee did not agree that Boris Johnson could remain prime minister until October on Thursday morning, The Telegraph can reveal, despite suggestions to that effect from Downing Street figures.
Sir Graham Brady, who has held the post since 1922 and spoke to Mr Johnson at around 8.30am today, agreed only that a new prime minister should be chosen by October for the party’s conference.
It has not yet been decided exactly when Mr Johnson will hand over power to his successor after he steps down. Under the timeline discussed by Sir Graham, this could happen as early as October.
Control over when and how the Prime Minister hands over power is not in Mr Johnson’s hands alone. Senior figures in the 1922 Backbench Committee have controlled the first leg of the leadership contest – whittling the Tory MP candidates down to the bottom two.
The second phase, where Tory party members vote for the winning candidate – usually after weeks of leadership struggles – is overseen by the Tory party board.
The new executive leadership of the 1922 Committee is expected to agree on the timetable for the first phase on Monday night after the elections for those positions are held on Monday afternoon.
The Telegraph understands it could be agreed for Tory MPs to choose a final two candidates before parliament goes into summer recess on July 21 – just three weeks from now. Those decisions will be made on Monday night.
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