Tories ‘want MPs not members to choose leader’
The majority of Conservative constituency chairpersons want MPs to select the party’s new leader, a survey claims.
A poll by the BBC received replies from 66 chairmen out of 197 Tory constituencies, with 36 saying they would like to see politicians, rather than party members, choose.
The current system sees MPs vote for candidates until just two potential shadow prime ministers remain, and a vote then goes to party members.
The Tory leader Michael Howard said he would be stepping down immediately after the party’s defeat in this month’s general election.
The survey for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme received just 26 responses for chairmen for their preferred choice of party leader, with most opting for Shadow Home Secretary David Davis.
Other possible candidates for the leadership contest include former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke, Shadow Foreign Secretary Liam Fox, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Shadow Education Secretary David Cameron.
