The Lib Dems are gearing up to give Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak a by-election headache in the months after Boris Johnson finally steps down.
The party is set to launch the selection process for a race to replace Nadine Dorries if she's installed in the Lords by the lame-duck PM.
Ms Dorries, the Culture Secretary and a firm Johnson ally - is tipped for a peerage in the ousted Prime Minister's resignation honours list.
Her elevation to the upper chamber would spark a by-election in her seat of Mid-Befordshire - which Ed Davy's party believes could be up for the taking.
Lib Dem chiefs believe the seat is similar to the three Blue Wall strongholds the party successfully took from the Tories in recent by-elections - Tiverton and Honiton, North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham.
Party bosses today told campaign teams they would also be preparing for possible by-elections in Selby and Ainsty, held by Tory MP Nigel Adams and North East Somerset, held by Jacob Rees Mogg.
Both MPs have been rumoured to be set for peerages in Mr Johnson's crony honours list.
The email reads: "There are still a few weeks before the Prime Minister actually leaves office. When he does, there will be a resignation honours list which is likely to move several MPs to the House of Lords. The result will be more by-elections.
"In September, we’ll be running the selections for the three seats thought most likely to become vacant. These are Mid-Bedfordshire, North-East Somerset and Selby & Ainsty. From our perspective and depending on timing, all three might be interesting.
"We’ve had three brilliant by-election results in the past year or so – with excellent candidates and strong campaign teams we’ll be hoping for more."
The Sunday Mirror revealed in July that Tory Chairman Ben Elliot was under consideration for a gong.
And more big ticket donors are being discussed - many of them thought to be members of Mr Johnson’s “advisory committee” of donors said to be granted access to senior ministers in return for giving more than £250,000 to the party.
They include John Gore, a Bahamas based donor who has funded the party to the tune of £4.2 million - and David Ross, the Carphone Warehouse founder who arranged a Caribbean getaway for Mr Johnson.
Mr Elliot’s firm, Quintessentially, was accused last year of introducing clients of the firm to Prince Charles after they spent £15,000 on a top-tier membership to the service.
At the time, a spokesperson said the meeting with Prince Charles was “entirely about helping to raise money for charity.”
In his last act as Prime Minister, Mr Johnson is expected to put as many as 39 Tory backers forward for the House of Lords.
There are already 253 Tory peers in the Lords - 87 more than Labour, and four more than Labour and the Lib Dems combined.
Such a large Tory bloc would mean a Labour government could have to rely on the votes of crossbench peers to pass its bills.
Boris Johnson has already has already created 43 Tory peers since he entered No10 - compared to 26 by Theresa May in less time. The Lords has swelled from 736 in 2010 to 762 this year.
Billionaire party backers have been jostling for position in recent weeks as Downing Street and the Conservative Party prepare two lists of knighthoods and peerages, expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre and Sir Nicholas Soames - the former Tory MP and grandson of Winston Churchill - are understood to have been placed on the list.
And the Mirror was told a further seven donors have been discussed for a peerage - with one or more names already passed to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) for vetting.
