Candidates for the Conservative leadership will be forced to agree in writing that they will not withdraw from the contest if they are in the two final names put to a vote by party members, under new plans to prevent MPs from loving who they will be. the next prime minister.
Senior Conservatives are desperate to prevent one of the candidates from withdrawing from the contest as Dame Andrea Leadsom did in 2016, handing the undisputed lead to overwhelming favorite Theresa May before members have a chance to vote.
The Telegraph understands that the leadership rules to be agreed on Monday include a “Leadsom clause” according to which any candidate who reaches the last two will have to submit to the vote of party members.
A high-ranking party source said each candidate should agree that “they should go to the members’ vote if it reaches the last two ”when they enter the contest.
The next Conservative leader is being selected by a process initially led by lawmakers before the last two stand in front of the party’s 200,000 members to select a winner.
The hope is that the rules agreed Monday by the 1922 party committee and board will allow the leadership camp to be quickly reduced to a handful of Conservative candidates over the weekend.
A senior Conservative MP said the selection process had to be truncated for MPs to start the summer holidays at the end of next week.
This meant that there was a “big disadvantage for candidates on the sidelines” compared to family names. “Some of them aren’t even family names in their own homes,” a senior Tory told the Telegraph.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Rehman Chishti announced on Sunday night that he is running, becoming the 11th candidate to run for Conservative leadership.
Chishti, a Gillingham and Rainham MP since 2010, vowed to bring “new ideas” and a brand of “aspirational conservatism”.
What are the rules of conduct of the 1922 committee?
Nominations must be sent to Sir Graham Brady, the President of 1922, before 6 p.m. today. The first hurdle is the lowest: any candidate must receive the support of 20 deputies – that is, 18 deputies, one proposer and one second – to enter the race.
Voting is set to begin on Wednesday, July 13, following questions from the Prime Minister in one of the cavernous commission rooms in the committee corridor, and will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., with a result announced at first evening time.
Deputies insert their ballots into the historic 1922 metal ballot box marked “CCO”, under the watchful eye of Sir Graham and other 1922 board members, who will make sure it is a fair vote. Voting by delegation is allowed to colleagues who cannot vote in person.
Now raise the bar to stay in the contest. Deputies with the support of less than 10% of the parliamentary party -36 deputies- will have to resign.
The field thins out before the second round
Deputies predict that this will trigger the frantic horse trade on Wednesday night and Thursday, ahead of the second round of voting that day.
Candidates who remain on the field will be courting rivals who have been forced to withdraw and will try to get their endorsements and hopefully the support of parliamentarians who had supported them.
To add to the intrigue, the 1922 committee is pondering Wednesday evening to give backbenchers a chance to make a grid for their future leader.
The second round of voting will take place on Thursday, July 14, when the last candidate for leadership will automatically leave.
Could the rules be changed?
One idea to be discussed on Monday in the 1922 committee would be to raise the threshold at which a candidate must retire from 10% to 15%, to reduce the list of candidates more quickly.
After Thursday’s second vote, there will be a three-day break before MPs have a chance to talk to candidates about their policies on a “super-Monday” of recruits.
Three sets of clashes are scheduled for Monday, July 18: one for the 1922 committee and open to all Conservative MPs, one for the group of 92 senior Conservative MPs and another for the anti-awakening common sense group.
The next ballots are scheduled for Tuesday, July 19, when one or two ballots may be cast, depending on the number of candidates remaining.
The last day of voting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20th.
Party leaders expect two candidates to remain in the process on Thursday, July 21st.
The confrontation begins
Conservative Central Office officials take over and organize a series of rallies at the party’s regional bases across the country so members can reunite the two remaining contenders.
The calls – which were held in 2019 in places like Belfast, York, Darlington, Perth, Nottingham and Cardiff – will allow thousands of voting members to question the last two.
Conservative members will be encouraged to vote for their election to be leader by mail in late August.
The winner will be announced on Monday 5 September.
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.