Commerce Minister Penny Mordaunt and Secretary of State Liz Truss will fight over who will compete in a face-to-face fight with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak to become the next British Prime Minister.
Truss allies claimed he had the momentum to beat Mordaunt in a final round of Conservative MPs voting on Wednesday over who should be the next Conservative leader, while Sunak seems assured of a place in the final list of two .
Former Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch was eliminated on Tuesday in the fourth round of voting by MPs. Truss hopes to collect a large portion of the 59 votes that went to Badenoch, another far-right.
Sunak increased his vote count by three to 118, just two less than the 120 needed to secure a place on the final list of two, from which Conservative members will choose the next party leader.
Truss got an additional 15 votes to reach 86, shortly before Mordaunt, who got an additional 10 to get 92.
On Wednesday at 16.00 it will be revealed which two candidates have made the final list and then they will embark on a series of televised tables and debates.
Ballots will be distributed to Conservative members in early August and Boris Johnson’s successor as party leader and prime minister will be appointed on 5 September.
Badenoch’s removal from the contest caused some of the 357 Conservative MPs elected to reduce the candidates to two to claim left-wing and tactical voting. His departure has also sparked a last-minute fight to secure his votes.
Sunak’s team claimed that Truss’s team asked his fans to “lend” him their votes in the fourth round to help defeat Badenoch, who campaigned vigorously.
Some Conservative MPs believe this is good for Sunak because he was worried about facing Badenoch in the final list. Sunak’s team denied the encouraging tactical vote. “We want all the votes,” one deputy from his team said.
The former chancellor’s team hopes that Badenoch, who criticized Mordaunt for his socially liberal views, will now support him, along with his most prominent supporter, former cabinet minister Michael Gove.
Truss’ campaign spokesman said the Conservative right should unite around the Secretary of State “who will govern conservatively and has shown that he can deliver again and again”.
Meanwhile, Mordaunt, who clashed with Badenoch for the rights of transgender people, said: “I pay tribute to my friend Kemi Badenoch who electrified the leadership contest.”
Recommended
A YouGov poll of conservative activists last week found that both Mordaunt and Truss would win Sunak in a face-off. Many conservative activists dislike Sunak’s track record as a tax collection chancellor and perceived disloyalty to Johnson.
But the rector’s supporters are confident he will be able to beat them both. “The lines of attack against Liz are easy: she’s a former Lib Dem and she voted to stay,” said a Conservative MP who supported Sunak. “Penny sounds good, but people have said there’s not much substance.”
Sunak supporters are divided on who poses the biggest challenge: Mordaunt has the advantage of offering a “new beginning” without having been in Johnson’s cabinet, while Truss has a better understanding of politics and economics.
Mordaunt said: “We are very close to the finish line. I look forward to going and excited to present my case to members across the country and win.”