ITV News deputy political editor Anushka Asthana reports on the latest developments in the Conservative leadership race, as candidates running for the next prime minister are reduced to three.
Kemi Badenoch has been removed from the Conservative leadership race, leaving three contenders fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
He received the support of only 59 Conservatives, while 118 supported Rishi Sunak, 92 voted for Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss received the support of 86 of her colleagues. There was a canceled ballot.
It looks like Ms. Truss had more momentum, with 15 votes on yesterday’s result, while Ms. Mordaunt won 10 and Mr. Sunak increased their number by just three.
Who’s who in the Conservative Leadership Contest?
The departure of the former Minister of Equality, Mrs. Badenoch, was expected as she competed against three MPs with extensive experience in the Cabinet, and was always considered one of the disadvantages of the race.
Tom Tudgendhat, who was eliminated from the competition on Monday evening, was another outsider who advanced much further in the competition than had been expected.
Mr. Sunak seems to be guaranteed to get to the last two, as things stand, with Ms. Truss and Ms. Mordaunt hoping to get the votes available for Ms. Badenoch leaving the race.
Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will be the next British Prime Minister. Credit: PA
In a statement, Ms Mordaunt said she was “so close to crossing the finish line” as she paid tribute to her eliminated rival that she “electrified the leadership competition with her fresh thinking and bold policies”.
One of his supporters, senior Tory Tobias Ellwood, was suspended from the parliamentary party on Tuesday morning after abstaining in Monday’s vote of confidence.
A spokeswoman for the Conservative Whips office said: “Deputy Tobias Ellwood has lost the Conservative party after not voting for the government in last night’s confidence vote.”
The vote was initiated by Boris Johnson with the aim of showing the Labor Party that its MPs were confident that it would remain on Downing Street until a replacement was elected.
It was held after the government rejected the Labor motion for a vote of censure by the Commons, which could have resulted in a general election if the Conservatives had lost.
The government won with 349 votes to 238, a majority of 111.
Ellwood, a longtime critic of Prime Minister Johnson, said he regretted “very much” losing the whip, but argued that he could not return from a meeting with Moldova’s president due to an “unprecedented disruption.” .
It means the Bournemouth East MP, who had been supporting Ms Mordaunt, will no longer be able to vote alongside her fellow MPs in the Conservative leadership election.
A Sky News debate scheduled for tonight, designed to give Conservative lawmakers one last chance to assess candidates ahead of Wednesday’s vote, was canceled Monday after Sunak and Foreign Secretary Truss said that they would not participate.
The pair tore during the ITV debate on Friday – as did the other candidates – and the consensus among conservatives was that the “blue on blue” attacks were causing too much damage to the party.
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It was considered a gift to the Labor Party, as much of the discussion involved candidates indirectly criticizing the history of their own government in an attempt to despise each other.
In a statement, Sky said: “Two of the three candidates currently leading the MPs’ votes, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part.
“Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party.”
The last two candidates, selected in Wednesday’s vote, will spend the summer appealing to the approximately 160,000 members of the Conservative party to try to win their votes.
The vote count will take place at the end of August, the winner will be announced on September 5 and will be taken care of the next day.