Tory civil war begins: First shots are fired as members bemoan a 'Boris-shaped hole' in the party and demand a candidate to challenge Nigel Farage - with the early runners and riders to replace Rishi Sunak revealed

• GENERAL ELECTION 2024 LIVE: Follow MailOnline's liveblog for latest updates

Tory members have bemoaned of a 'Boris-shaped hole' in the party and are a demanding a candidate to challenge Nigel Farage and succeed Rishi Sunak as the party's leader. 

The battle lines were drawn before dawn broke yesterday when critics rounded on the ex-prime minister, as senior Conservatives lambasted him for failing to listen to voters and deliver on their priorities.

William Hague has fired an early warning shot to whoever next leads the party as he raised fears that a slim-lined frontbench would mean the party would struggle to form a 'viable' opposition. 

Mr Sunak stood at the lectern in front of No10 Downing Street for the last time yesterday to issue a grovelling apology as he acknowledged the scale of the electoral mauling his party had received.

He could stay on as leader over the summer to stave off a civil war with fears the party could descend into infighting between centrists and those on the right over the direction the party now takes.

Mr Sunak said he would stand down as leader once the arrangements were in place to find a successor, but it's thought some Tory MPs want him gone before the first PMQs in just under two weeks on July 17. 

In his leaving speech, Mr Sunak look downcast and shell-shocked having delivered the worst Tory defeat in modern history. 

'I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change,' he said. 

Who will replace Rishi Sunak? Odds on the next Tory leader

Kemi Badenoch: 2/1

Tom Tugendhat: 7/2

Priti Patel: 5/1

Suella Braverman: 6/1

Robert Jenrick: 7/1

Jeremy Hunt: 8/1

Nigel Farage: 9/1

James Cleverly: 10/1

Victoria Atkins: 10/1

Boris Johnson: 14/1

Source: Sky Bet

ADVERTISEMENT

As many as seven Tories are thought to be in the running to replace the fallen premier as leadership hopefuls already begin to circle.

One veteran Conservative former lawmaker predicted a 'bloodbath' as the party set about charting its way back to power.

'The party will suffer a kind of nervous breakdown, which will continue for a wee while,' said the former lawmaker, who declined to be identified. 

'And it's then going to be necessary to find a way forward.'

Senior figures say they want the contest to be wrapped up in time for the party's annual conference on September 29 – meaning nominations for a successor will have to open within weeks.

A source told the Mail: 'I think it's feasible to do it over the summer. There is time to get somebody in place by conference. We will want to get a new leader in place who can appoint a Shadow Cabinet.'

However it needs to hold elections itself – such as on finding a new chairman after Sir Graham Brady stood down from Parliament. 

The committee will then decide on the rules and timetable for the first stage of the contest, in which contenders are usually whittled down by their fellow MPs to reach a final pair.

Under current rules, Tory members around the country are then balloted to decide between the two candidates.

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, was the first Tory MP to make her pitch, but it is Kemi Badenoch who is thought to be the early frontrunner with many urging a move to the Right to win back voters who abandoned the party for Reform UK.

Ms Braverman apologised for the Conservatives' failings in her speech after winning the Fareham and Waterlooville seat.

'I'm sorry that my party didn't listen to you. The Conservative Party has let you down,' she said. 'You, the great British people, voted for us over 14 years and we did not keep our promises.'

Outgoing Tory grandee Sir Charles Walker called her victory speech 'disgraceful' and said: 'If Suella Braverman leads the Conservative Party, I and many others will not be within that party.' 

Former business and trade secretary Ms Badenoch has long been considered the favourite to win. 

The 44-year-old grew up in Nigeria before returning to Britain aged 16 where she worked part-time in McDonald's while studying for her A-levels.

She worked in IT and banking before becoming a London Assembly member, then an MP in 2017.

Click here to resize this module

She is a staunch advocate for single-sex spaces – recently making headlines after actor David Tennant told her to 'shut up' over her stance on the issue.

Although she is backed by the likes of Michael Gove, some MPs worry she can be too abrasive.

However the field has opened up after possible contenders – including Penny Mordaunt and Grant Shapps – lost their seats.

Surviving runners include Tom Tugendhat and Dame Priti Patel.

However hardline former secretary Suella Braverman has seen her odds slashed with some on the Right of the party suggesting they would prefer a candidate such as Robert Jenrick.

Outgoing Tory grandee Sir Charles Walker called her victory speech 'disgraceful' and said: 'If Suella Braverman leads the Conservative Party, I and many others will not be within that party.'

Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, on the Left of the party, has seen his odds shorten after he unexpectedly clung on to his seat in Godalming and Ash.

But, having failed to win the leadership twice before, it is not clear he would want to try again.

Click here to resize this module

Even ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith did not rule out another tilt at the leadership.

Asked if he would run as leader, he told an Unherd event last month: 'I'm planning to win my re-election. And then I simply just want to make sure that we get the party back together again.'

Some punters have been placing bets on Nigel Farage becoming the next Tory leader, but he is not one of the party's MPs so cannot stand in the contest.

Former Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, handed a peerage in the dissolution honours, said the party was 'in a state of flux'. Asked if the Tories should join with Reform, he told GB News: 'I think so.'

Ex-cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was ousted last night, told the Mail that the Tories had 'lost our core vote' – pushing voters to Reform 'because we didn't deliver for them on immigration, we were too keen on green issues and the tax burden went up'.

He blamed the party's defeat in part on getting rid of Boris Johnson as Conservative leader, saying it was 'really silly' as it left a space for Reform to surge into. Sir Jacob urged his former colleagues to ensure a 'true Blue' MP succeeds Mr Sunak.

Another ex-Cabinet minister said Labour was able to win a landslide because of a 'Boris-shaped hole' in the party's defences, through which Reform was able to stroll 'unchallenged'. They said the defeat was 'brought about by our own MP's actions and a s*** campaign for no good reason'.

Click here to resize this module

Meanwhile a friend of Penny Mordaunt said local polling had put her ahead when the election was called, but that her support had been dented by a poor national campaign, coupled with Mr Sunak's decision to return early from D-Day commemorations, which angered veterans in Portsmouth.

'D-day and other f***-ups looks like they have cost her the seat,' the friend said.

Yesterday Ms Mordaunt, who had hoped to run to replace Mr Sunak, said the Tories had lost because they 'failed to honour the trust that people had placed in it'.

Liz Truss, who lost her South West Norfolk seat to Labour, also said the party she briefly led had not 'delivered sufficiently on the policies people want'.

Mel Stride, the outgoing Work and Pensions Secretary, said it was a 'devastating defeat' and that it will take 'quite a lot of time now to do the thinking, to get ourselves back into a position where we can rebuild and become once again the natural party of government'.

Mr Stride also suggested a reliance on support from older voters is a 'very serious issue' for the Conservative Party. Mr Shapps, who lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat to Labour, appeared to blame infighting – saying his party had an 'inability to iron out (its) differences' amid an endless 'soap opera'.

Another ousted Tory said of Mr Sunak: 'If he had been less c**p we would have been in a massively better position.'     

Lord Hague took on the mantle as Tory leader following Tony Blair's crushing landslide victory in 1997 when he could 'just about' form a proper frontbench with 165 MPs. 

He fired an ominous warning, saying: 'One false move and there could be an even worse catastrophe.' 

Lord Hague addded: 'If the Conservatives get the idea the answer to all of this is to be a bigger version of the Reform Party, that would be a great mistake and that would not pave the way for the Conservative Party to return as a big force in politics and government again.'