Nominations for new Conservative party leader open tomorrow

A new British prime minister and Conservative leader should be in place by September 2 at the latest, the party’s 1922 Committee executive has recommended. Nominations open tomorrow and close on Thursday.

At an emergency meeting in Westminster, it agreed unanimously that the contest should be run under the same rules as 2005, which will see MPs pick two candidates to put to the wider membership.

The speedy process would appear to favour established candidates. The method has to be signed off by the party board today and a full meeting of the backbench committee tomorrow.