Tories who lost seats at general election want formal role in leadership race

Former MPs plan to return swiftly to parliament amid fears of a lurch to the right if Conservatives fail to explore reasons for defeat

Tobias Ellwood: the Conservative party faces an onerous task to rebuild itself, and every Tory must have a say

Former Tory MPs defeated in Labour's landslide election win are calling for a formal role in the election postmortem, amid fears that their party risks a lurch to the right without a thorough examination of the defeat.

Many former Conservative MPs who lost their seats by tight margins are already considering trying to make a swift return at the next opportunity.