Rishi Sunak’s successor as Conservative Party leader is likely to be in place by early November despite calls from some in the party for the race to be pushed into 2025.
The 1922 Committee has announced that a three-month leadership contest will kick off this week, with the new leader set to be announced on 2 November.
Nominations open on Wednesday, requiring candidates to have the support of 10 MPs to participate in the initial voting round.
MPs will then reduce the number of candidates to four, who will address party members at the Conservative conference starting on September 29.
Subsequently, MPs will further narrow the field to two candidates, with the final winner selected by Conservative Party members through an online ballot.
There had been pressure from the Tory grassroots for the contest to be completed before the party’s annual conference, which is due to take place in Birmingham from 29 September.
One Conservative source told i it would be a “disaster” to hold final hustings at the party conference as it would risk the event descending into “infighting”.
“All the different camps would be at odds with each other. If they finish it before the conference we could put on a united front after a difficult defeat.”
But MPs have reportedly urged the party’s board and the 1922 Committee to go for a longer contest, with some even suggesting it should run into next year.
In an article for ConservativeHome, senior Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope said the party should focus on recruiting new members and winning back those who have left before the leadership contest begins.
“The election of the new leader by party members should take place next April and not before,” he said. “What would happen in the interim? The Parliamentary party should elect a temporary leader who would undertake not to be a future leadership candidate.”
Mr Chope suggested that whoever is the interim leader should agree not to participate in the future race, and that potential candidates could be appointed to their shadow cabinet.
Alicia Kearns, who was appointed to the executive of the 1922 Committee last week, has also indicated that she is in favour of a longer contest.
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Mds Kearns, MP for Rutland and Stamford, said: “I think it’s really important that we take the time as a party to discuss what’s happened, to learn. The reality is we have a lot of reflection to be doing.
“And we need to be very humble in the way that we do that reflection. So I think it’s important we have the space to have that conversation as a party and to have that conversation with our members.”
“All the different camps would be at odds with each other. If they finish it before the conference we could put on a united front after a difficult defeat.”
Despite divides within both the parliamentary and grassroots wings of the party, however, it is understood that the 1922 Committee and the Conservative board have reached an agreement about the timetable for the race.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride confirmed on Monday that he was considering a leadership bid, with one former minister describing him as a “very good communicator” who is “widely likely across the party”.
A second Tory MP told i that Mr Stride had “a lot of experience where we need it” and would be the “most unifying” of the potential candidates to succeed Mr Sunak.
But there are concerns that he could be seen as too close to the former prime minister, and that, at 62, he would not provide the party with the leadership it needs after such a heavy defeat at the ballot box.
Former home secretary Priti Patel has additionally indicated she intends to stand, while Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are also widely expected to run.