James Cleverley has taken a dramatic lead in the Conservative leadership race after rival Tom Stimhat was defeated.
The shadow home secretary won 18 supporters in the final vote, beating previous favourite Robert Jenrick.
Jenrick lost two votes to 31, while Kemi Badenoch increased her support by two to 30. Tugendhat secured 20 MPs but lost one.
Mr Cleverley said:
“The job is not done yet and I look forward to continuing to spread our positive Conservative message.”
A spokesman for Badenoch’s campaign team said: “There are still three candidates in the race, two gaining votes and one falling back and losing support.”
The Conservative right wing must now rally around Kemi, who can unite the party across the board, has the star quality to beat the opposition and is the undisputed MP to be elected to the party leadership.”
Genrix Sources Election Team: “Robert is now in a great position to progress to the final two.
MPs want seriousness and competence, which is why he has the support of the whole party, from Danny Kruger on the right to Vicky Atkins on the left.” How the contest plays out.
Hours before the final round, Paul Holmes resigned as Conservative whip to publicly support Cleverley.
Writing in Conservative Home, he wrote:
He is someone who can bring together a team from all parts of our party that will be relentlessly focused on delivering results.’ Among Conservative members.
Cleverley, who finished joint third with Stimhat in the final round, was the bookmakers’ favourite after a well-received speech at the party conference in which he called for the party to be more ‘normal’ and ‘fair’. Selling Conservatism with a smile. ”
Mr Cleverley and Mr Jenrick complained that the drawn-out process would not be completed in time for the new Conservative leader to respond to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget, which is due to be delivered on 30 October.
