A Greenwich Conservative councillor has thrown open his say on the next Prime Minister after admitting he was uncomfortable with a “narrow self-selecting” minority choosing who has the keys to number 10.

Eltham South councillor Nigel Fletcher asked his constituents to help him decide who to vote for in the Tory leadership contest.

The deputy leader of the opposition said in a blog post: “My right to help select the next Prime Minister stems purely from the £25 a year I pay to the party.

“Of the 13.6 million people who voted for Conservative MPs at the last general election, just over one per cent of us are now asked to select who should lead those MPs and form the government.

“As I say, that makes me uncomfortable, both from a democratic and a political point of view.”

Only Conservative party members get the chance to have a say on who will replace Theresa May this week – with the odds stacked highly in favour of former London Mayor Boris Johnson.

So, who did the residents of Eltham South throw their weight behind?

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This week cllr Fletcher issued an update on the vote, running it tight against the deadline of 5pm on Monday, 22 July, to get his ballot in.

He said: “Just over 40 people responded – a small and of course unscientific sample of opinion – but an interesting indicator nonetheless.  The result was pretty clear, and perhaps rather surprising: 61 per cent for Jeremy Hunt, and 39 per cent for Boris Johnson.”

Cllr Fletcher’s preference was for Matt Hancock, a leadership hopeful who dropped out the race in the early stages.

Given the small sample size for the councillor to go on, he did some more soul searching – “Following the logic of my belief that elected MPs should hold the final say, should I not simply endorse the view of the parliamentary party, who voted by a clear majority for Boris Johnson?,” the cllr wrote.

“So I had two competing democratic arguments which pointed to different conclusions – one to Hunt, one to Johnson.”

After comparing both hopeful’s Brexit blueprints, cllr Fletcher found himself leaning towards the Eltham south choice – underdog Jeremy Hunt.

Cllr Fletcher wrote: “Yes, Boris is still overwhelmingly likely to win – and the personally and politically smart thing for me to do would have been to find a way to declare for him.

“But after pacing for some time around Woolwich Town Hall – a place in which I am well used to being in the minority- I resolved to have the courage of my convictions. I cast my vote for Jeremy Hunt.”

Greenwich Conservative leader Matt Hartley has said he is backing Boris, along with cllr John Hills. Matt Clare has thrown his weight behind Hunt.

Nearby Bexley Council leader Teresa O’Neill said at a meeting last week that the council was planning to speak to Boris should he get in.

She said: “We will have a new Prime Minister next week and one of them knows Bexley very, very well. If it is him, we will be talking to him about Bexley very soon.”