Kemi Badenoch has been eliminated from the Tory leadership race, leaving Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss vying for a place in the final two to replace Boris Johnson.
Announcing the results of the fourth ballot, the Conservatives’ 1922 Committee revealed the former chancellor Mr Sunak, had secured the most votes among MPs with 118 backers.
Ms Mordaunt came in second place with 92 votes, but was closely followed by the foreign secretary Liz Truss on 86 votes, who picked up momentum in the penultimate ballot.
While Ms Mordaunt increase her share of votes by 10, Ms Truss won the support of 15 more colleagues as the right of the party appears to coalesce around her in the race for No 10.
After securing the fewest number of votes with the support of 58 colleagues, Ms Badenoch, a former equalities minister, has been eliminated from the contest.
It came just hours after she emerged as the favourite to defeat all contenders in a final run-off vote of Tory members, according to a YouGov poll.
With Mr Sunak now highly likely to progress to the final run-off after the final ballot of MPs on Wednesday, Ms Truss and Ms Mordaunt will now be fighting to remain in the race and secure the backing of Ms Badenoch’s supporters.
In a statement shortly after the results, Ms Mordaunt said: “We are so nearly across the finish line. I am raring to go and excited to put my case to members across the country and win.
She also heaped praise on eliminated rival Ms Badenoch, whose votes will be crucial in deciding which candidates make the final two.
“I want to pay tribute to my friend Kemi Badenoch who electrified the leadership contest with her fresh thinking and bold policies,” she said.
“She and I both know that the old way of government isn’t working as it should. Voters want change and we owe it to them to offer a bold new vision for this country. Kemi’s passion for this showed and I’m glad she put herself forward to be heard.”
Prominent Truss supporter Steve Baker said he was hopeful that the foreign secretary will pick up significant numbers of former Badenoch supporters in the final MPs’ ballot.
“I would have thought most of the people attracted to Kemi would not be attracted to Penny,” the Tory MP said. “So I’m hopeful that Liz will be able to attract their support. But one must never take anything for granted.”
In an indication that the Truss camp is now aiming to woo Badenoch supporters, Mr Baker hailed the 42-year-old as an “extremely talented” MP who had performed well in the contest.
A senior Sunak backer also denied the former chancellor was “lending” votes to rivals in the hope of ensuring he faces his favoured opponent in the final ballot.
“It’s entirely possible that individual MPs have chosen to vote tactically, but we are encouraging every colleague who supports Rishi to vote for him,” said the MP.
He said today’s result was positive for Mr Sunak: “We continue to move in the right direction and put on support. We are very content with that.
“There is now a significant number of votes in play. Obviously we will be making all the arguments to them about why Rishi is the right candidate.”
