Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch to face off in final Tory leadership vote

Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch will go head-to-head in the final heat of the Conservative Party leadership contest, after James Cleverly was knocked out in the latest round of voting.

Former home secretary Mr Cleverly was eliminated in Wednesday’s ballot of Tory MPs, following Tom Tugendhat who was knocked out on Tuesday.

Ms Badenoch won 42 votes and Mr Jenrick 41 votes, to Mr Cleverly’s 37 votes in the latest ballot, with 120 Tory MPs having taken part.

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Final round

The final round of the contest will now see Conservative Party members across the UK vote to select the successor to Rishi Sunak.

The result will be announced on November 2.

Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick are both seen as candidates favoured by the right of the Conservative Party, while Mr Cleverly was thought of as a more centre-ground Tory.

The latest result has upset many predictions in Westminster and beyond, as Mr Cleverly was seen as the bookmakers’ favourite to win the contest after Tuesday’s round of voting.

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Vote lending

Allies of Mr Cleverly suggested there was at no point any co-ordinated vote lending from their campaign to other candidates.

Such a move could be used to ensure a more threatening leadership rival were eliminated.

After the vote came in, Mr Cleverly thanked his supporters on X, formerly Twitter.

“I’m grateful for the support I’ve received on this campaign from colleagues, party members and the public,” he said.

Mr Cleverly added: “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.”

Failure

Labour meanwhile said the Conservative Party membership now has the “unenviable task of choosing between two of the architects of Tory failure”.

Ellie Reeves, Labour Party chairwoman, added: “Both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are central figures in 14 years of hapless leadership and decline, and have already proven they’ve learned nothing from the mistakes that took the Conservative Party to its worst defeat in modern history.

“While the endless bickering continues, Labour is fixing the foundations and sorting out the mess that these two deeply unimpressive figures left behind.”