Tories back leadership rule changes
Conservative MPs have backed rule changes removing the right of grassroots members to have the final vote on who should lead the party when Michael Howard steps down.
The parliamentary party supported the proposals, put forward by Mr Howard, by 127 votes to 50, and a new leader is now expected to be elected by the middle of November.
Mr Howard announced his resignation immediately after the general election defeat but said he would not bow out until new rules to elect his successor were established.
Following last night’s vote, he will now most likely resign at the party conference in Blackpool in October, leaving six weeks to find his replacement.
Under the new leadership rules, candidates would need the support in writing of at least five per cent of Tory MPs to stand, before the names are submitted for consultation to the wider party.
Grassroots members, European parliament members, councillors, peers and members of the devolved assemblies would be able to nominate two choices for leader and the subsequent rankings would go back to MPs, who would have the final say.
The reforms must still be passed by a constitutional convention, which represents activists, MEPs and others, but the strong backing from MPs means they are likely to succeed.
Senior Conservative MPs, including former leader Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Ancram, Andrew Lansley, Theresa May and David Willetts, have argued that removing the right of rank-and-file members to have the final vote was a retrograde step and would invariably erode “democratic involvement”.
Ms May, shadow secretary of state for the family, said: “I am disappointed that we have decided to send out the message that we can’t trust our members to make the decision about who should lead our party.”
Shadow home secretary David Davis and shadow education secretary David Cameron are currently leading the leadership race, while Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Dr Liam Fox and Andrew Lansley are also in the running.
