A coronation would be a betrayal of Tory members

It is fashionable among certain commentators to decry the Conservative Party’s system for choosing its leader. They argue that party members, who donate their time, money and effort to try to help get candidates elected up and down the country, should be stripped of their role in choosing their party leader. I sometimes wonder if those commentators would have taken the view in 1965 that allowing MPs to have a say – rather than Conservative leaders emerging from consultation as was previously the case – was entirely the wrong thing to do.

In fact, the current system, which sees Conservative MPs whittle down the number of potential candidates to a final two before anyone who has paid their £25 and been a party member for three months has a chance to vote in the final round, is a good one. It balances the fact that the party leader needs to have the support of their colleagues in Parliament as well as that of party members across the country.

Nevertheless, there is a strong case for this Conservative leadership election to be quick. People are struggling through a cost of living crisis and there is a clear need for decisive action.

It would rightly be seen as selfindulgent to take months and months to make a decision.

Just as it always falls to Conservative governments to clean up Labour’s mess, it also falls to us to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The British people have the right to expect that the Government will take the hard decisions necessary to tame inflation and cut the cost of living. After the events of this week, we know that that clean-up operation will take place under a new prime minister.

While there is certainly a need for speed, there is no case to ignore party members or strip them of their vital role in the process.

It seems that the likely plan is for the final two candidates to be chosen before parliamentary recess on July 21 and then the members’ vote to have concluded and a decision made by early September.

Although that is a swift timetable, unlike in 2016 (when the contest ended prematurely with a coronation for Theresa May) it gives candidates the opportunity to properly lay out their respective stalls and to be clear on their plans for the next two years until a general election.

There will be time for hustings and for us to see how the candidates deal with the pressure of debate. We should have a sense of how candidates intend to appeal to voters across the UK, where they see our country’s future and how they intend us to get there.

The new prime minister will, by necessity, have to make some difficult decisions over the coming years. He or

A quick leadership contest is vital, but it would be foolish to bypass the will and judgment of the grassroots

There is no case to ignore party members or strip them of their vital role in the [election] process

she will have to answer for those decisions at the next election. It is vital therefore that Conservative members have buy-in to those decisions. Members must be involved with choosing the prime minister who will appoint the Cabinet and set the direction of travel.

We know that some members are unhappy that Boris Johnson, who led the Conservative Party to its greatest electoral triumph since 1987, has been deposed as leader.

We know that other members believe that he should have been removed months ago. A leadership contest allows the party to move forward and collectively choose a prime minister to unite our party and steer our country into the future.