THEY'RE OFF: TORY RUNNERS TOLD IT'S A SPRINT

SHORTLIST OF JUST TWO FOR PM COULD BE DECIDED WITHIN 12 DAYS

- Nicholas Cecil

MPs seeking to succeed Boris Johnson need to "get their skates on" as a shortlist of two candidates to be Tory leader could be decided in just 12 days' time, a senior Conservative parliamentarian said today.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, said a dozen contenders may enter the leadership race. He believes the aim will be to whittle down the crowded field to two candidates through a series of votes by Tory MPs before the Commons rises on July 21.

Given that many MPs are not at Westminster on that Thursday, the final vote is more likely to be on July 20, at the latest.

The shortlist of two would then be put to Tory party members over the summer, with the whole process expected to possibly last about two months. With Mr Johnson having yesterday announced his resignation as Tory leader, Sir Geoffrey told The Standard: "The starting gun has been fired."

Speaking in a personal capacity, he added: "They [contenders] need to get their skates on, to get their supporters rallied together, to get the required number of signatures for the nominations.

"They have got to get a manifesto out so that we all know what they stand for and then they have got to get a campaign up and running including finance."

A new executive of the 1922 Committee will be elected at the start of next week and it, in co-ordination with Tory HQ, will decide the leadership contest timetable and rules.