Tugendhat knocked out of Tory leadership race as Cleverly surges

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The race for the Conservative Party leadership has been whittled down to three candidates as Tom Tugendhat has been eliminated after securing just 20 votes in the latest round of MP voting. James Cleverly now leads the pack with 39 votes, followed by Robert Jenrick with 31 and Kemi Badenoch with 30. The next round of voting is set to take place on Wednesday as the remaining candidates jostle to make the final two. The new leader will be announced on November 2nd.

Cleverly saw the biggest increase in support, jumping from third place to first after what was widely regarded as a strong showing at the Conservative Party conference last week. Badenoch and Jenrick were neck and neck but Badenoch managed to edge ahead and secure an extra two votes to narrowly take third place.

Tugendhat may be out of the running but his supporters could still play a decisive role in determining which two candidates will make it to the final round. Cleverly needs just one more vote to secure his place in the final two and is taking nothing for granted, warning his supporters that “the job’s not finished”.

Badenoch has received endorsements from former cabinet minister David Davis and Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, while a spokesperson for her campaign said that “the right of the Conservative Party now needs to coalesce around Kemi, who can reach across and unify the party, has the star quality to cut through in opposition, and is indisputably the members’ choice for leader.”

The successful candidate will replace Rishi Sunak as party leader after Sunak led the Conservatives to a poor showing in the July general election. Priti Patel was eliminated in the first round of voting and Mel Stride in the second as the field has slowly narrowed. As the campaign heats up in the run-up to November 2nd, the remaining candidates are expected to be seeking endorsements and backing from key figures within their party

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