Tory leadership contenders squabble over cutting short race to replace Rishi Sunak

Under the existing Tory leadership timetable a new leader will be announced on November 2 - three days after Rachel Reeves delivers Labour's first Budget in over 14 years

Tory leadership contenders squabbled today over whether to cut short the race to replace Rishi Sunak.

Under the existing timetable a new leader will be announced on November 2 - three days after Labour's first Budget in over 14 years. Frontrunner Robert Jenrick told the party's conference on Monday "I don't know for the life of me why" a new leader will not be in place before the Budget.

He said he had told Conservative Campaign Headquarters "100% whether it's me or somebody else the next leader of this party needs to be stood at the despatch box making the argument to Rachel Reeves, holding her to account."

Another Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat has previously called for the contest to finish early, saying October 30 will be "one of the most consequential budgets".

But ex-Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch - a third contender in the race - said the party should stick to the existing date. She suggested Mr Sunak, the caretaker leader and former Chancellor, has the experience to respond to the Budget in just under a month.

Conservative chairman Robert Fuller also insisted there would be "no change" to the date of the new leader being announced. He told the BBC his job is to ensure "members have enough time to get their ballot papers and return their ballot papers and that's why we ended up with the time frame we have".

It comes after The Mirror revealed the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will put fixing the NHS at the heart of the new government's first Budget. A Treasury insider said “we know that cutting NHS waiting lists is a priority for people”.

Speaking during a Tory members' Q&A session in Birmingham, contender Mr Tugendhat also vowed to abolish Labour's plan to impose VAT on private school fees if he wins power. He told the party's annual conference: "Let's just be quite clear about this, this isn't just a bad policy, it's a vindictive and nasty policy."

The new government has previously announced VAT of 20% will be added to private school fees from the start of 2025. The party has said it will use the money - up to an estimated £1.5billion - to fund commitments such as 6,500 new teachers in state schools in England.