Who will lead the Tories next?

00:00 04:42

James Heale has narrated this article for you to listen to.

Rishi Sunak performed a mea culpa when his shadow cabinet convened on Monday, taking full responsibility for the election loss. There were, he said, lots of lessons to be learned. He tried rallying his team, reminding them it was time to knuckle down and prepare for the King’s Speech. When those around the table began agreeing, with some saluting Sunak’s performance during the campaign, Kemi Badenoch decided she couldn’t take it any longer. Isn’t it necessary, she asked, to say that the snap election had been a calamity, the Tory campaign had been even worse – and that it was about time to examine why?

She argued that Sunak went to the King to call the election without even the pretence of seeking advice from his cabinet beforehand; a move, she said, which bordered on being unconstitutional. And while the cabinet was kept in the dark, she went on, Sunak’s ‘buffoon’ of a parliamentary private secretary was placing a bet on the election date.

Then Badenoch attacked his decision to leave D-Day celebrations early – was it now time to discuss the consequences of that too? She said the move had dire consequences, pointing out that Penny Mordaunt lost her seat as a result.

This shadow cabinet will not exist for much longer. Sunak’s job is to keep things together long enough for his party to hold a leadership election; Badenoch is the bookmakers’ favourite. With the Tory succession under way, a new chairman of the 1922 committee was chosen on Tuesday. Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East, is now in charge of deciding the rules for selecting the next leader. He will meet with the party board to decide whether the contest should be concluded before or after the autumn party conference.