Tories need to thin the bloated leadership race

The 1922 Committee faces the urgent task of squeezing ambitious also-rans out of an unwieldy race, writes Sean O’Grady

The 1922 Committee, pictured when Boris Johnson survived his no-confidence vote in June (PA Wire)

If the Conservatives are not careful, their leadership election itself could turn into a slightly embarrassing display of incompetence and general chaos, with too many candidates promising much the same things to the same narrow electorate of 359 MPs and some 150,000 activists.

Voters may feel they haven’t got the energy to understand the nuanced policy differences between various hard Brexiteers gathering to take Britain into the 2030s. If so, then the Tory MPs, members and the pollsters won’t gain much of an idea in the coming weeks of exposure, interviews and regional hustings about who might conceivably help their party win the next election.

At the moment, Tories are spoiled for choice, at least in terms of quantity. There are as many as 14 emerging candidates, a record for any major party leadership contest. For the record, they are, in no particular order: Steve Baker (confirmed), Priti Patel (mulling), Ben Wallace (asking his family), Tom Tugendhat (confirmed), Liz Truss (all but certain to run); Jeremy Hunt (all but certain to run, runner-up last time); Nadhim Zahawi (all but certain); Rishi Sunak (confirmed and once a hot favourite); Sajid Javid (all but certain); Suella Braverman (confirmed); John Baron (confirmed); Penny Mordaunt (all but certain); Kemi Badenoch (confirmed) and Grant Shapps (taking soundings).