Kemi Badenoch’s victory in the Conservative party leadership election was hardly a landslide. She secured only one-third of MPs’ support in the final round, just one vote ahead of her rival Robert Jenrick. Her share of the membership vote in the final round is also the lowest ever for a winner under the current system, in which a ballot among MPs is followed by a membership vote.
Conservative MPs are evenly split between MPs on the right of the party – supporting Badenoch, Jenrick and Priti Patel – and the centre of the party – those supporting James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride.
