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New Prime Minister Could Be In By September

A new prime minister and Conservative leader should be in place by 2 September, the party's 1922 Committee of senior backbench MPs has recommended.

It said nominations should open on Wednesday and close at noon on Thursday, at an emergency meeting in Westminster.

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The group also agreed unanimously that the contest should see MPs pick two candidates to put to the wider membership - under the same rules as 2005 when David Cameron was elected leader.

Chairman of the executive body, MP Graham Brady, told Sky News: "I think the view of the party is that both we as Conservatives and the country more generally, really want certainty, we would like some resolution, and we think it would be a good thing to conclude this process as soon as we practicably can.

"That ought to mean that we would have a new prime minister before the House of Commons returns for its September sitting."

Asked if a general election should follow suit, Mr Brady said the Government should "get on with" and seek to negotiate as good an outcome of Brexit as possible before "the people are asked to approve or reject that in a general election".

A spokesman for the Prime Minister has said there will be no transition period once a new leader is chosen.

"You can't have two leaders," he said.

Mr Cameron will stay neutral in the contest to chose his successor and will stay on as an MP, the spokesman added.

The announcement of a possible timetable came as the Government started putting together a plan for "Brexit consultations" at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Mr Cameron.

It was the first time the Prime Minister had come face-to-face with some of the ministers - including his old friend Michael Gove - who engineered the defeat that has forced him to resign.

The marathon one-and-a-half hour Cabinet meeting took place after months of toxic infighting and campaigning over the issue which some say has left the Conservative Party more divided than ever.

A Downing Street source told Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam the architecture for negotiations to begin with the European Union had been put in place and individual departments had been told to report to Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin.

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Ministers agreed to the creation of a new civil service unit that will have the complex task of negotiating the country's departure from the EU, the PM's spokeswoman said afterwards.

She said there would be a sensible approach to Brexit and EU issues - and that the UK would remain a member of the bloc, until it left.

As the meeting drew to a close, there was reportedly banging on the table and tributes to Mr Cameron.

Also sitting at the table were those being touted to replace him as Tory leader.

Home Secretary Theresa May is emerging as an alternative to former London mayor Boris Johnson, who remains the favourite to succeed Mr Cameron.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening earlier suggested on Sky News that Mr Johnson and Mrs May should do a deal and avoid a leadership contest.

Islam said: "Around that Cabinet table now there are people who think that they could be the new prime minister.

"Boris Johnson isn't here. One voice is the Work and Pensions Secretary - a Remainer - Stephen Crabb."

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Mr Crabb, also tipped as a possible leadership contender, said: "This is a really serious moment for our country.

"We need stability, we need direction, and what I want to see over the next few days is a candidate emerge who understands the enormity of the situation that we are in ...

"... who has got a clear plan, a clear plan to deliver on the expectations of the 17 million people who voted for Britain to come out of Europe last week, who has got a plan for putting together a team who can lead a tough negotiation in Brussels.

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"But, who has also got a plan for holding this United Kingdom together.

"And that means yes, going and working with Nicola Sturgeon and holding onto the Union, because this isn't just about party unity now, it's about national unity."

Asked on his way in to Number 10 by Islam whether Scotland would exit the Union, Scottish Secretary David Mundell replied: "definitely not".

Chancellor George Osborne said he would make his position clear on his future role in the Conservative Party in the coming days as he sought to calm the markets following the UK's Brexit vote.

Other runners and riders include Nicky Morgan, the woman who replaced Mr Gove as Education Secretary, and Brexit-supporting Priti Patel, who was by Mr Johnson's side throughout much of the referendum campaign.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid, leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson, who engaged in angry exchanges with the former London mayor during a referendum debate, and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond - all have the potential to throw their hat in the ring.

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Islam added: "We are in transition from this current government to what some people think will be a Brexit government - ready to negotiate Britain's leaving of the EU.

"That will form now part of the Conservative leadership election.

"How many want to step up and take over what will be difficult negotiations with Europe - trade negotiations, exit negotiations - and delicate negotiations within the United Kingdom to ensure the Union, as Stephen Crabb puts it, stays together both with Scotland, and Northern Ireland?"