Liz Truss on cusp of securing Tory leader ballot place as Kemi Badenoch eliminated

In the latest round of voting by Tory MPs, Ms Badenoch only received 59 votes, the lowest placed candidate and has been kicked out of the race.  

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak remains the most popular candidate with Conservative MPs with 118 votes, but the race for second place, to make it onto the ballot to be put to Tory members, has tightened.  

Penny Mordaunt received 92 votes, picking up 11 MPs’ support from the last round, while Liz Truss remains just six votes behind her on 86 after she saw a surge of support from 15 additional Tory MPs.  

Ms Mordaunt is now under pressure to hold onto second place given Ms Badenoch, who has 59 votes to be redistributed, has been a heavy critic of the trade minister during the campaign – while both her and Ms Truss are seen as being aligned on the right of the party.

Ms Truss, who increased her vote with Tory MPs by 15, is likely to pick up more votes from those who backed Ms Badenoch.  

The campaign to elect Ms Truss has urged supporters of Ms Badenoch to unite behind the Foreign Secretary.  

A spokeswoman said: “Kemi Badenoch has run a fantastic campaign and contributed enormously to the battle of ideas throughout this contest.  

“Now is the time for the party to unite behind a candidate who will govern in a Conservative way and who has shown she can deliver time and again.  

Kemi Badenoch is eliminated after the latest vote by the 1922 Committee

“Liz has a bold new economic agenda that will immediately tackle the cost of living crisis, boost economic growth and continue leading the global fight for freedom in Ukraine.”  

Former Conservative leader and supporter of Ms Truss, Iain Duncan Smith, told the BBC he thinks she "has the momentum".  

He said he believes the Foreign Secretary has "garnered a wide range of support" among Conservative MPs and her supporters "cover everybody".  

Mr Sunak remains in pole position to make it through to the vote of Tory members, but a new YouGov poll published yesterday showed that in a contest with any other candidate, the former chancellor would not win.  

His campaign focused on polls showing that he could beat Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and “is the candidate the public think would make the best PM”.  

A YouGov survey of 725 party members over Monday and Tuesday saw Mr Sunak losing against all of his remaining rivals by large margins.  

The survey put Ms Truss beating Mr Sunak by 54 to 35 and Ms Mordaunt beating him 51 to 37.  

Ms Mordaunt, who had been put ahead in recent weeks, was losing to both Ms Truss and Ms Badenoch in head-to-heads by narrow margins.  

The current size of the Conservative membership is unknown, but at the last leadership election in 2019 there were around 160,000 members, and insiders expect it to have grown, meaning the polling is not representative of the party.  

Following Tuesday's vote, Ms Mordaunt said she was "so nearly across the finish line".  

She added: “This afternoon colleagues once again put their trust in me, and I cannot thank them enough.  

"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.”  

Ms Mordaunt's campaign manager, Angela Leadsom, rejected the idea that tactical voting and voting on block leaves her candidate's hopes hanging by a thread.  

She added: "Penny and Kemi have worked together over the years. 

"We are very optimistic."  

Ms Badenoch said she was “grateful” to the Tory MPs and party members who had backed her campaign.  

She added: “This campaign began less than two weeks ago.  

"What we’ve achieved demonstrates the level of support for our vision of change for our country and for the Conservative Party.”  

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Sunak promised harsher sentences for criminals who refuse to attend court for their sentencing hearings and a crackdown on grooming gangs. 

The Foreign Secretary promised to increase defence spending by 2030 and strengthen the intelligence services. 

Ms Mordaunt used a Daily Telegraph article to promise she would ditch housing targets if she enters Downing Street, saying they have been “tested to destruction”. 

The Prime Minister used his final Cabinet meeting to say the net-zero policy to tackle climate change is the “right thing to do” even if it is “unfashionable”, after criticism from the leadership contenders. 

Senior Tory backbencher Tobias Ellwood, a supporter of Ms Mordaunt, had the Tory whip removed after failing to back Mr Johnson in a confidence motion on Monday. 

Meanwhile, Ms Mordaunt said she remains “committed” to Mr Johnson’s flagship levelling-up agenda amid concerns that the high-investment policy could be shelved for less costly policies once he leaves office in September. 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted that Mr Sunak is a “huge fan of levelling up” amid reports Ms Sunak is happy to bypass Holyrood to continue the controversial policy.