James Cleverly has become the final candidate to be ditched by MPs in the race to become the Conservative party leader, leaving Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick with the task of winning over party members to claim the crown.
The Shadow Home Secretary was the favourite to go through to the final two after coming top of the previous round of voting only yesterday.
But he lost two votes, while Badenoch, the shadow housing secretary, and Jenrick, a former immigration minister, gained 10 and 12 votes respectively.
They will have just over three weeks to convince members that they should replace Rishi Sunak as the next Leader of the Opposition.
There was a gasp of surprise in Committee Room 14, where the results were read out, when Cleverly’s total of 37 votes was revealed.
Most of the commentary ahead of the announcement had focused on which of the two candidates furthest to the right – Badenoch or Jenrick – would join him.
The final result suggests some tactical voting took place by supporters of each leadership hopeful.
Writing on X, Cleverly said following the announcement: ‘I’m grateful for the support I’ve received on this campaign from colleagues, party members and the public.
‘Sadly it wasn’t to be. We are all Conservatives, and it’s important the Conservative Party unites to take on this catastrophic Labour government.’
Undoubtedly one of the biggest rising stars to emerge from the Conservative ranks in the past few years, Badenoch (pronounced Bayd-noch) started out as the bookies’ favourite to take over as leader before Jenrick snatched her spot.
While serving as Business Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, she made her name by engaging directly with culture war issues, most prominently surrounding gender.
This wouldn’t be her first pop at the party leadership: she previously came fourth in the July 2022 contest, behind Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak and ultimate winner Liz Truss.
Amazingly, Mordaunt and Truss both lost their seat at the last election and Sunak’s stepping down. Could that mean Badenoch is now destined for the top spot?
A win for her would be a win for the right wing of the party, but MPs believe she can also appeal to the centre.
At her launch event, she criticised the previous government (which she was part of) by saying it ‘talked right but governed left’ on issues like net zero.
Robert Jenrick was the third to announce that he was running alongside Cleverly and Tugendhat.
Jenrick, a former Housing Secretary, reportedly spent the days after the General Election calling around new and old MPs to set himself up as a potential leadership candidate.
In his media appearances since, he has focused his attention on an issue that defined much of his work in parliament since 2022: immigration.
He was appointed Immigration Minister in Rishi Sunak’s first Cabinet after taking over from Liz Truss as PM and stayed in the role for over a year.
But he resigned in December 2023, arguing that Sunak’s effort to iron out legal issues with the Rwanda scheme did not go nearly far enough.
If the Tories decide they lost the election because their stance on immigration was not hardline enough, Jenrick might be their pick for leader – and so far, he’s come top of both MP ballots.
But he’s had to fight through controversies in the past, including long drives during the Covid lockdowns and the removal of a Disney-themed mural at a migrant centre for children.
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