The vote to decide the Tory leadership race cannot be brought forward to before the Budget because of the risk that postal delays would prevent party members’ ballots being counted, the chairman of the 1922 Committee has said.

Robert Jenrick, who is running against Kemi Badenoch for the leadership, has pushed for the final round of the contest to be brought forward so the winner can respond to the Budget in the Commons.

But Bob Blackman, who chairs the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers and is in charge of the leadership contest, said a shortened contest would risk ballot papers not arriving in time for all Tory members to be able to cast their votes.

It comes after postal vote chaos in the run-up to the general election meant voters in more than 90 constituencies – including Mrs Badenoch’s North West Essex constituency – had raised concerns about their ballots failing to arrive.

Tory members will receive ballot packs through the post from Oct 15, which include a letter, personal statements from the candidates, a ballot paper and details of how to vote online.

Conservative Party Headquarters (CCHQ) urges members to vote online “where possible” but tells them that it is “your choice” whether to do so or to send the ballot back by post.

Votes must be in before 5pm on Oct 31, with members having 15 days to have their say before the new leader is announced on Nov 2, shortly after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, delivers her first Budget on Oct 30.

Mr Blackman said there had been discussions between CCHQ and Royal Mail about the delivery of Tory leadership ballots, as the party is “well used” to having problems with postal votes.

He told The Telegraph: “One of the reasons why we have got this period between now and Oct 31 for people to register their votes is that obviously the packs have to be prepared and then mailed out.

“If members haven’t received their votes by a given date, then this will be communicated out. Then they’re encouraged to check if it’s either been lost in the post or for some reason there’s been a mistake in the pack that has been sent to them so we can get a replacement.

“We also have to obviously issue to those members who are abroad, and indeed may be abroad at the time when the voting takes place. So this allows us time to ensure that every single member receives their ballot pack.

“There will be ones that get lost in the post. There will be ones where mistakes are made. So we want to make sure that every member receives the ballot details and can actually vote.”

Asked whether this meant the vote timeline could not be shortened, he said: “It’s no good saying ‘oh, we’ll put it forward a few days’. It’s no good saying we do that, because we literally have to put it forward a week, and then that the risk is and we would have no time to replace ballot papers or make sure that every member received their ballot packs.

“It’s to allow every member time to vote as they so wish.”

In a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank on Thursday, Mr Jenrick said: “I want to be the leader of the opposition who is stood up in the House of Commons giving the response to Rachel Reeves at the end of the month.

“I want to heal the party. I want to settle the big policy debates that we have had now, so that we can unite around a clear policy platform and we can take the fight to Labour and provide the effective opposition that the country is crying out for. That should begin immediately – in fact, it should begin with the Budget.”

Around 70 per cent of Conservative Party members voted online in the last leadership election in 2022, when Liz Truss defeated Rishi Sunak.

CCHQ will be sending the ballot packs out next week by second class post, with the expectation that most will arrive by Friday or Saturday.

If members wish to return the ballots by post, they have to provide their own envelope and pay for postage.

Earlier this year, Royal Mail came under fire after concerns were raised over postal ballots not being sent to voters in time for the general election on July 4.

Kevin Hollinrake, the then-postal affairs minister, criticised the company for not recruiting the “right number of people” to deliver postal votes to those who had applied for them.

But Royal Mail blamed the delays on Mr Sunak’s decision to call a snap election, urging “a review into the timetable for future elections to make sure the system “works as smoothly as possible”.

Mr Blackman is also amending the rules surrounding no confidence votes in Conservative leaders so that at least 30 per cent of Tory MPs must demand one before one is held. He told GB News the threshold is likely to be lifted from 15 per cent to “at least 30 per cent”.