Cleverly surges to first place in Tory leadership race as Tugendhat eliminated

The former home secretary saw his support from fellow Tory MPs increase on the back of a strong performance at the party conference last week.

James Cleverly came first in the third round of voting in the Conservative leadership contest (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

James Cleverly has surged into first place in the Conservative leadership contest while Tom Tugendhat has been eliminated in the third round of voting by MPs.

Mr Tugendhat, the shadow security minister, secured the support of just 20 of his fellow MPs while former home secretary Mr Cleverly received 39 votes after what had been seen as a strong performance at last week’s party conference.

Former front-runner Robert Jenrick fell to second place with 31 votes, one ahead of Kemi Badenoch.

Tuesday’s vote saw Mr Cleverly pick up 18 supporters, likely to include all or most of the 16 who backed former cabinet minister Mel Stride in the second round.

Mr Stride endorsed the former home secretary on Monday night, saying he was the “standout candidate”.

In a post on social media after the vote, Mr Cleverly said he was “grateful” to his colleagues for their support and “pleased to be through to the next round”.

He added: “The job’s not finished. I’m excited to keep spreading our positive Conservative message.”

Mr Jenrick, the former immigration minister, saw his support fall by two votes, while Ms Badenoch increased her total by two and Mr Tugendhat saw his support fall by one.

Both Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch are seen as battling for the support of the right of the party as they attempt to make the final two, with Mr Cleverly now likely to make the final round as the “One Nation” wing’s candidate.

A spokesperson for Ms Badenoch’s campaign said the party’s right wing “needs to coalesce around Kemi” given the fall in Mr Jenrick’s support, adding the former business secretary “can reach across and unify the party, has the star quality to cut through in opposition, and is indisputably the members’ choice for leader”.

Polling suggests the Conservative membership favours Ms Badenoch over Mr Jenrick and Mr Cleverly, but that the gap has narrowed since the Conservative Party conference.

A source from Mr Jenrick’s campaign said he was “in prime position to make the final two”.

The source said: “MPs want seriousness and competence. That’s why he’s won support from across the party so far – from Danny Kruger on the right to Vicky Atkins on the left.”

Mr Tugendhat thanked his supporters in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “Your energy, your ideas and your support have shown a vision of what our party could become.

“Out campaign has ended but our commitment to our country continues.”

MPs will hold a further ballot on Wednesday to decide the final two candidates, who will then go forward to a vote by Conservative Party members.

The winner of that vote will be announced on November 2.