EXC: Senior Tories mull long leadership election – even to December.

Dowden under stewardship of Cameron as acting leader — but only if he holds seat

If contest forced by what’s left of party then grandees DD and Liam Fox floated as caretaker leaderhttps://t.co/KoqqwNN9ZH

— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) June 27, 2024

The Sun are reporting that

One glimmer of hope for the new regime is that the Tories look set to eat each other for a few years longer — with some party figures barely waiting for a vote to be cast before beginning a very public post-mortem.

Wiser hands want a delay to any leadership election conclusion well into the autumn, or even December, as happened after their defeat in 2005.

Deputy PM Oliver Dowden, under the beady watch of his mentor Lord Cameron, is touted as caretaker leader until then — but only if he can hold his seat.

Should an early contest be forced by whatever rump is left of Tory MPs, then grandee names such as David Davis and even Liam Fox are being floated around as possible caretakers for a couple of years while the party reels from what is likely to be a massive thumping.

“A summer of reflection” before the rock-throwing starts” is what figures on the Conservatives’ powerful Party Board are hoping for, but many suspect it’s wishful thinking.

My advice to punters is to avoid the next Tory leader market for about a week until we know who survives as an MP, I am quite content on my existing bets such as Priti Patel at 33/1, plus all the bookies terms say caretaker leaders do not count. I also think Nigel Farage is distorting this market and laying Farage seems sensible but I can understand why you’d want to avoid this market for about eight days.

David Davis and Liam Fox as caretaker leaders shows the Tory pain won’t end on July 5th.

TSE