James Cleverly is a surprising leader in today’s Tory leadership race.
The former home and foreign secretary roared up the rail from third to pass former frontrunner Kemi Badenoch and long-time frontrunner Robert Jenrick.
Mr Cleverly was the main beneficiary of a third vote by Tory MPs this afternoon after stunning at the party conference in Birmingham last week.
Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, is the third challenger to be eliminated this afternoon, and it is widely thought that moderate supporters are more likely to switch allegiance to Mr Cleverly in tomorrow’s fourth vote.
It will be suggested that he nailed it to make the final two play-offs that go to the vote by Tory members, with Jenrick and Badenoch fighting out to join them.
Both struggled at the conference after a series of gaffes and poorly received speeches.
Any result that prevents Ms Badenoch from advancing is likely to send her supporters into an uproar.
While the money is on Mr Cleverly, he remains the favorite among Tory members, who will have the final say on who is sworn in as the new party leader on November 2.
Mr Cleverly was the main beneficiary of a third vote by Tory MPs this afternoon after stunning at the party conference in Birmingham last week.
He looks set to make the final two play-offs that go to a vote by Tory members, with Jenrick and Badenoch fighting out to join them.
The former home and foreign secretary roared up the rail from third to pass former frontrunner Kemi Badenoch and long-time frontrunner Robert Jenrick.
Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, is the third challenger to be eliminated this afternoon, and it is widely thought that moderate supporters are more likely to switch allegiance to Mr Cleverly in tomorrow’s fourth vote.
Mr. Smart has become the bookmakers’ favorite after he urged party members to be ‘more normal’ and ‘sell Conservatism with a smile’ in a speech at Birmingham.
And a new poll today shows that he is the only candidate to end the show more popular with members than before.
He was previously tied with Mr Tugendhat, but was boosted by support from former candidates Mel Stride and Paul Holmes, who stepped down as party whip today to support him.
The Tories said a run-off between Mr Cleverly and Ms Badenoch would be ‘too close to call’ and ‘could go either way’.
Mr Cleverly said he was delighted to be able to pass ‘and vowed to continue spreading ‘our positive Conservative message.’
The results came as a surprise to Mr. Jenrick, who had led the contest from the beginning.
But he appeared to be angered by members and MPs after his party conference performance, which included a hard-line position on immigration – and an uproar over campaign items featuring slogans depicting sex acts.
One veteran Tory aide told MailOnline: ‘That Bobby J baseball caps have blown up, like David Davis with DD for Me shirts.’
And a source from the rival camp said the MP had ‘stopped buying the bullshit**’, adding: ‘Now it’s clear the people who got rid of him. He has career supporters who now know he can’t win.’
Mr. Tugendhat thanked his supporters after Tuesday’s vote. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘To everyone who supported our campaign – thank you!
‘Your energy, your ideas and your support have shown the vision of our party.
‘Our campaign is over but our commitment to our country continues.’
Mr Stride previously described Mr Cleverly as ‘strong, clear and measured’.
“We need leaders who urgently need to reform the party machine, but who can also reach out to the party and appeal to a broad base.
‘Who has experience in government, parties, and is an effective communicator,’ he wrote in The Telegraph.
Mr. Tugendhat, a former soldier and security minister, was fourth despite attracting more money than other candidates and winning the support of influential figures including Andy Street, former Mayor of the West Midlands.
Former minister and ex-MP Steve Baker, who supported Mr Tugendhat, said Mr Cleverly was ‘very affable’ but said ‘being affable is not enough to be a successful prime minister’.
He added: ‘It looks like James was well received at the conference.’
He said there was a ‘very significant asymmetry of information’ between MPs and members of the Tory party who voted.
“Members of Parliament know more about the candidate than what is shown in the speech and will judge the candidates more than what is in the speech,” he said.
Mr Baker said he thought Mr Tugendhat was ‘better at taking the tough decisions that had to be made’ and that his tone on issues like the European Convention on Human Rights was ‘superior to Robert (Jenrick)’.
Former immigration minister Mr Jenrick has left the ECHR at the center of a campaign and sparked a backlash last week after claiming in a video that British special forces ‘kill rather than catch’ terrorists.
Mr Tugendhat said he would introduce restrictions on legal migration if he became prime minister.
He has admitted that his three rivals have ‘more management experience at the cabinet table’, but said: ‘I’m not here to manage, I’m here to lead.’
Former business secretary Ms Badenoch faced criticism during the conference for suggesting statutory maternity pay would be a ‘huge’ burden on small businesses.
He said in his conference speech that ‘I don’t like war but I’m not afraid of war’.
