James Cleverly knocked out of Tory leadership race as final two are chosen

Either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will be the next leader of the Conservatives

Author: Chris MaskeryPublished 9th Oct 2024

The two MPs who will contend the Tory leadership have been decided with Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick being the options for Conservative party members to vote on.

In the final round of voting by MPs today James Cleverly was eliminated from the race, receiving 37 votes compared to 41 for Mr Jenrick and 42 for Ms Badenoch.

Originally six MPs put their names forward to be leader of the party, with MPs voting through the favourites and one being eliminated in each round until two are left.

In previous rounds Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat were knocked out of the contest.

Conservative Party members will now have the final say between the remaining two candidates, and the new party leader will be announced on November 2.

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