Top Conservatives say party 'must take time to find new leader in order to have the best chance of bouncing back' after Tory strongholds wiped out by Labour landslide in general election
Senior Tories last night urged the party not to rush the leadership contest, with veteran MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith touted as a potential interim leader.
A string of grandees joined calls for the party to take its time so the right candidate is elected to have the best chance of bouncing back.
It comes after Sir Iain warned in an article for The Mail on Sunday that the party was 'teetering on the brink of collapsing further' following its drubbing.
He added: 'That's why I cannot think of anything worse than rushing into a leadership election.'
He was backed by former Tory Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries, who said Sir Iain would be the 'perfect choice' as interim leader before choosing a permanent replacement for Rishi Sunak.
Senior Tories last night urged the party not to rush the leadership contest, with veteran MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith touted as a potential interim leader
Former Tory Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries said Sir Iain would be the 'perfect choice' as interim leader before choosing a permanent replacement for Rishi Sunak
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the Tory party conference, starting on September 29, should be a 'showcase' for candidates
She said this should happen 'as soon as possible' with a leadership election a year from now.
Her comments echo former Tory donor Lord Bamford, who last week warned against an 'immediate rush' to replace Mr Sunak.
Several top Tories backed a longer leadership contest, but they didn't think it should last a year.
Sir Iain, who led the party from 2001 to 2003, said he'd rather Mr Sunak stays in place until a new leader is chosen.
But he didn't rule out acting as interim leader if Mr Sunak resigns.
He said: 'It's no good having a bunch of runners and riders who all came from Rishi Sunak's Cabinet who were all as guilty as anybody else for getting the [election] campaign wrong.
'We need to give them a chance to accept with humility that they were part of the problem and show us how they will behave to rectify that. And that takes time.'
He said the party should choose a new leader before the end of the year.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said: 'The lesson of 2005, when Michael Howard ensured the party had a long, slow look at who was to lead it, was pivotal in returning the Conservatives to government.'
He said the Tory party conference, starting on September 29, should be a 'showcase' for candidates, adding: 'The best option is that Rishi stays until the end.
'The second best option, rather than a short leadership election, is with a caretaker leader.'
Mr Howard delayed his departure as Conservative leader for seven months after losing to former Labour PM Sir Tony Blair in 2005, which later resulted in the election of David Cameron and the Tories' return to power in 2010.
Veteran Tory MP Sir David Davis said: 'We have no idea how good any of the current candidates will be because none of them have served in Opposition and it's very different from government.
'So it's much more important to take our time, pick slowly and get the right person.'
But other Tory heavyweights say a longer contest would leave a vacuum for Labour and Reform UK to capitalise on.
Veteran Tory MP Sir David Davis said it was important for the party to take its time and 'get the right person'
Lord Houchen, the Tory mayor of Tees Valley, told the BBC yesterday that a longer contest would be a 'waste of time'.
The executive of the 1922 Committee will set the timetable for any leadership election.
A poll for The Times last week found former Home Secretary James Cleverly is the early favourite among voters.
