James Cleverly eliminated from Tory leadership race

James Cleverly has been eliminated from the Conservative leadership race despite being well-backed after Tom Tugendhat was knocked out.

Conservative MPs voted for the final time in the contest this afternoon, with Kemi Badenoch finishing in first place with 42 votes.

Robert Jenrick finished a close second with 41 but Cleverly crashed out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak as he actually lost support and finished with 37.

The result stunned Westminster because Mr Cleverly had finished in first place at yesterday’s vote with 39 to Mr Jenrick’s 31 and Mrs Badenoch’s 30.

The final two candidates will now face a ballot of the Conservative Party membership.

The winner will be announced on Saturday November 2.

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.