Kemi Badenoch knocked out of Tory leadership race as field narrows to three

Kemi Badenoch has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race.

In the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following votes:

There was one spoiled ballot paper and one vote was not cast.

Another vote will take place on Wednesday, which will leave just two candidates remaining.

All eyes will be on where Ms Badenoch’s votes go.

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Defence minister Leo Docherty became the first of Ms Badenoch’s supporters to announce who he would next be backing following her elimination, posting on social media that he believes Ms Truss should be prime minister.

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After tomorrow’s vote, the final two will then face a summer of campaigning and hustings before a vote by the wider party membership, with the winner expected to be announced on 5 September.

Earlier this afternoon, the results of a YouGov Conservative members poll which was conducted yesterday and today suggested that Ms Badenoch would beat any of the other three candidates in a final head-to-head.

It suggested she would beat Mr Sunak by 56 votes to 34, Ms Mordaunt by 48 votes to 43 and Ms Truss by 46 votes to 43.

The same poll also suggested that Mr Sunak will struggle to win over the Tory membership irrespective of which of the remaining candidates he may face in the final two.

Responding to the result of the fourth round ballot, Ms Mordaunt, who received the second highest number of votes, said she is now “so nearly across the finish line” and “raring to go”.

“This afternoon colleagues once again put their trust in me and I cannot thank them enough,” Ms Mordaunt said.

“We are so nearly across the finish line. I am raring to go and excited to put my case to members across the country and win.

“I want to pay tribute to my friend Kemi Badenoch who electrified the leadership contest with her fresh thinking and bold policies.

“She and I both know that the old way of government isn’t working as it should. Voters want change and we owe it to them to offer a bold new vision for this country.

“Kemi’s passion for this showed and I’m glad she put herself forward to be heard.”

A source close to Mr Sunak’s campaign reiterated their belief that “only Rishi can beat Starmer” and that the former chancellor “is the candidate the public think would make the best PM”.

“Rishi has continued to progress today because he is the candidate with the clearest plan to restore trust, rebuild the economy, reunite the country and because he is best placed to beat Labour at the next election,” they said.

“Every poll shows only Rishi can beat Starmer and is the candidate the public think would make the best PM.

“MPs are also recognising that Rishi has the best experience and plans to deal with the current economic situation.

“Rishi will rebuild our economy by gripping inflation, so we can get our economy growing and unleash the full opportunities of post-Brexit Britain.”

Ms Truss received a surge in support as she battles it out against Ms Mordaunt for the second spot.

She picked up 15 votes in comparison to Ms Mordaunt’s 10.

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Anne Marie-Trevelyan – a former supporter of Tom Tugendhat, who was eliminated in the previous round – declared her support for the foreign secretary.

Mr Sunak gained an extra three votes to put him in 118, just shy of the number effectively guaranteeing him entry to the final phase.

Following the result, former candidate Mr Tugendhat said he was “sorry” to see Ms Badenoch leaving the contest.

“She has brought courage and substance to the argument and will add to the future government of the UK,” he posted on social media.

Earlier today, senior Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood had his whip removed – meaning he was not able to vote in the party’s fourth leadership ballot.

The move was a punishment after Mr Ellwood failed to take part in yesterday’s confidence vote in the government.

Mr Ellwood, chairman of the influential defence select committee, said he was “very sorry” to lose the Tory whip but argued he was unable to return from a meeting with the president of Moldova due to “unprecedented disruption”.

The remaining runners will not face each other in a debate that had been planned by Sky News for tonight after Mr Sunak and Ms Truss refused to take part.

Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the previous debates have done to the image of the party after exposing disagreements and splits between the leading candidates.

The leadership contest was triggered after Boris Johnson announced he would be leaving Downing Street after an avalanche of ministerial resignations over his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.

He will remain as prime minister until his successor has been named.

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