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.
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.
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.
One Tory MP said they were now getting messages from local members saying “what the hell are you doing?” after two candidates from the right got on to the final ballot.
The MP said: “One of two things has happened. Either a number of people lent James Cleverly their votes yesterday and rolled them back.
“Or James Cleverly’s lent votes to Robert Jenrick and over-egged it.”
But there was also the possibility of individuals backing their second favourite candidate, assuming their preferred choice was already safe.
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.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) October 9, 2024
The MP said supporters of both Mr Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch had been asking MPs suspected of backing Mr Cleverly to lend support to one of them to get them on the ballot.
The Tory source said they did not “fall for that” but “it’s possible some people may have been dumb enough”.
Another Tory MP said Mr Cleverly’s team may have been “too complacent”, adding: “I hope my colleagues voted for who they wanted to be leader rather than voting tactically to stop someone.”
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.”
A spokesman for Ms Badenoch’s campaign said: “We’re delighted that Kemi has topped the vote. As the members’ choice throughout, she is the best placed to unite the parliamentary party and the Conservative Party membership.
“Kemi is now looking forward to taking her campaign for renewal around the country and making the case for politics with principles.”
Speaking to broadcasters, Ms Badenoch suggested her plan to “go bold” would unite Conservatives after the campaign.
But in a snipe at her rival Mr Jenrick’s focus on leaving the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), she said the Tories “can’t just be about one little part of immigration policy”.
Mr Jenrick’s team meanwhile suggested a win by his rival would risk the Conservatives being drawn into “endless rabbit holes, Twitter spats, and distractions”.
A Jenrick campaign source said he was willing to debate Ms Badenoch “any time, any place, anywhere” ahead of the final round of voting.
They added: “We are laying down the gauntlet that says a maximum amount of screen time and debate is what party members deserve as they make an incredibly serious decision about who the next leader of the opposition is and, hopefully, prime minister of this country.”
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.”
