Leadership vote returned to Tory MPs
Conservative MPs have voted to remove the right of rank-and-file members to take part in leadership elections.
MPs backed outgoing leader Michael Howard’s wish to return the decision to MPs following consultation with grassroot members, MEPs and peers.
Iain Duncan Smith was the only Tory leader to be elected under the current system.
Last night, a Tory spokesman said he heard no calls for an early leadership contest to find a successor to Mr Howard, who intends to stand down later this year, after the annual party conference.
The plan now passes to senior Tory MPs before a decision is made at the Party Convention in September, which includes some 900 local chairmen.
A two-thirds majority is needed at the meeting before the proposal can be adopted.
Ann Widdecombe, former Home Office Minister, who supported the retention of powers for party members, said the job now for Tories was to get on with making the transition as smooth as possible,
“I am disappointed we have to take the vote away from the mass membership, but that is what we have decided to do and therefore we should all try to make the process flow as smoothly as possible,” she said.
Yesterday, former Conservative Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher told the party to “get on” with choosing a new leader.
Meanwhile, Theresa May , Shadow Secretary of State for the Family, Culture, Media and Sport, will argue today that the party should be more pro-active in fielding top women candidates at the general election.
Increasing the number of women in senior positions within the party will boost the Tories’ electoral appeal, she will say in a speech to the Adelaide Group, a 750-strong group of senior business women.
“I believe the Conservative Party needs an A-List – a list of the top say 100 candidates it has identified as best able to fight and win the top 100 most winnable seats,” she will say.
“These would be the 100 people we would like to see more than anyone else in the House of Commons.
“To me, this is part of the Conservative Party’s responsibility to offer the British people the best possible alternative to the Labour Government, and if that means a compromise of the autonomy of local associations then that’s how it has to be.”
