“It’s a very powerful reason for us to get on with it,” he said. “In preparing ourselves to be a credible, appealing alternative government, the loss of another couple of months would be bad news.” Mr Maude dismissed as “fantasy” reports that Mr Howard would quit immediately if his proposed rule change was rejected next Tuesday, leaving Michael Ancram, his deputy, to take over as a caretaker leader. He stressed that the rules were reviewed because both MPs and party activists pressed for a change. But Mr Maude said the result would then be delayed until December or January instead of being known in early November. If the 66 per cent hurdle is not cleared, the election to choose Mr Howard’s successor will be held under the current system, which gives party members the decisive role. Charles Kennedy, who will try to reassert his authority in a crucial speech at the Blackpool conference today, has warned his party that such speculation would harm its chances at the election. Mr Maude issued a last-minute appeal to wavering Tory MPs and party activists to support Michael Howard’s proposal to give MPs, rather than party members, the final say in leadership elections.

More than half of those entitled to vote have already voted and the result will be announced next Tuesday. The Tory chairman said he would be “very, very surprised indeed” if the party did not get “well over 50 per cent” support among both MPs and party grassroots representatives, but conceded that it might fall short of the required 66 per cent among both groups. Everything we are doing is directed at that.” However, he is the first senior Tory to leave the door open to a post-election alliance with the Liberal Democrats, some of whom have raised the prospect of such a coalition. He told The Independent: “You look round the country and you see a number of councils where Conservatives are in alliance with Lib Dems, Birmingham, for example. There’s no great drama about that.”

Asked whether there could be a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, he replied: “There’s no reason why that should be out of the question If you end up with a hung parliament, there is either a minority government, which is unwieldy, or a coalition. You deal with what the electorate gives you.” Mr Maude insisted, however, that a hung parliament was a “remote” possibility, saying: “We are clearly aiming to win the next election outright.

The Suez crisis “was modest in comparison”, said the Conservative leadership contender, who opposed the invasion.. The Conservatives could form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats if there is a hung parliament after the next election, the Tory chairman Francis Maude, has said. Here we are a year on and it is just beginning to force its way up the agenda.”The proposed motion highlights Mr Cook’s resignation over the war, his opposition to unilateral military action, and his rejection of many Blairite reforms, including the expansion of the role of private companies in the NHS. The Labour MP Harry Cohen said: “It is time for Iraq to be properly and fully debated at the Labour conference.”* Iraq is a bigger disaster than Vietnam and Tony Blair should resign, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said yesterday. Neal Lawson, chairman of Compass, a democratic left pressure group, who tabled the Cook motion, said: “Robin would have been feeling totally vindicated if he were still alive by the events in Iraq. This time last year I shared a platform with him and he was calling for a timetable for withdrawal.