1922 Committee chairman to be chosen as Tories prepare for leadership race

The new chairman of the 1922 Committee is expected to be in place by Tuesday evening as the Tories prepare to elect a new leader.

The candidates to head the powerful group of backbench Conservative MPs will take part in a hustings with colleagues on Tuesday afternoon, with a winner set to be picked by the end of the day.

The 1922 Committee, previously led by Sir Graham Brady, plays a crucial role in organising the process to choose the next party leader, including deciding the rules and timeframe for the contest.

The chairman is also responsible for collecting letters of no confidence from Tory MPs who wish to change their leader and delivering the bad news when the time comes, earning committee members the nickname “the men in grey suits”.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bob Blackman, the only two members of the committee to survive the general election on July 4, have both thrown their hats into the ring for the chairmanship.

It is expected to be a quick selection process, with the winner chosen just hours after the hustings.

The committee’s entire executive will be elected on Tuesday, although the hustings are only for those running for chairman.

Only backbench Tory MPs can put themselves forward – but given that the party is yet to formally select a shadow cabinet, this is likely to comprise the vast majority of Conservatives who still have seats in the Commons.

Prospective candidates have until 3pm on Tuesday to decide if they want to run, and the new chairman and executive are expected to be selected by 7pm on Tuesday.

Mr Blackman has been the MP for Harrow East since 2010. In Thursday’s election, he pulled off the rare feat of increasing his majority, even as the Conservatives lost 251 seats across the rest of the country.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Saturday, he said: “It was sheer hard work, slogging nine hours a day for six weeks during the election campaign, knocking on doors, talking to people, running a very local campaign, I have to say.”

Sir Geoffrey, who was first elected in 1992 and won the newly drawn up seat of North Cotswold on Thursday, has also confirmed his candidacy.

He told The Telegraph the Tories need a chairman “with the authority to be able to get the party together to be able to hear every view and then take everything forward”.

An important question for the committee’s new executive will be how much time to allow for the Tory leadership race, with some senior Conservatives calling for a longer contest so the party can conduct a full post-mortem on why it lost and properly test the candidates.

If it opts for a relatively quick race, Rishi Sunak could face Sir Keir Starmer across the despatch box on July 24 and remain leader until his replacement is chosen later in the summer.

However, if it is decided that a longer process is needed, with the contest concluding in the autumn, Mr Sunak may hand over to an interim leader while colleagues battle it out for his old job.

The State Opening of Parliament and King’s Speech will take place on July 17, with MPs expected to break for recess at the end of the month.

Because Prime Minister’s Questions do not take place on the day of the King’s Speech, it is possible that, if recess starts on July 30, there may be only one PMQs before the summer break on July 24.