Conservative leadership race: Tom Tugenhat eliminated in latest round
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Tom Tugendhat becomes the third Tory hopeful eliminated from the race, leaving Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick left in the running.
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In brief…
- Tom Tugendhat is the third contender to be eliminated from the race, following Priti Patel and Mel Stride.
- James Cleverly has emerged as the current favourite to become the next Tory leader, moving from third place to first in the most recent round of voting.
- The News Agents ask whether the Conservative membership are asking the right questions as they try to win back voters following their huge general election loss.
Jon Sopel discusses the Conservative Party leadership race
What's the story?
Tom Tugendhat has become the third Conservative hopeful to be eliminated from the race to become the party's next leader.
He follows the elimination of Priti Patel and Mel Stride, who were knocked out in the first two rounds.
James Cleverly has emerged as the new front-runner, earning 39 votes in the most recent round.
Robert Jenrick drew 31, Kemi Badenoch 30, while Tugendhat trailed with just 20.
In July, Henry Hill, deputy editor of Conservative Home, told The News Agents he believed the race would come down to Jenrick and Badenoch, the two more right-wing contenders.
But more recently, The News Agents have discussed how James Cleverly has emerged during the campaign as likely to make it at least to the final two of the leadership race.
They describe him as the "safe pair of hands" the Tories might need to help recover from their 2024 election thrashing.
Here's who is still in the running, and what promises they've made about the future of the Conservative Party.
IN: Kemi Badenoch
The shadow housing secretary made a name for herself in the last Tory leadership contest, and although she didn't win, she announced herself as a right-wing candidate with hardline stances on all things cultural issues like trans rights.
Now, the 44-year-old announcing her campaign in The Times, pledged to return the Conservative Party to "first principles".
She claimed that former Tory leaders have allowed the UK to become “increasingly liberal”.
Badenoch wrote: "We talked right yet governed left."
In a video to launch her leadership bid, she said she would "take the fight" to Doctor Who, after actor David Tennant said at an award speech in early 2024 he wished she would "shut up" on attacks against trans people in the UK.
IN: Robert Jenrick
The former Immigration Minister launched his leadership via his campaign manager, becoming the third candidate to officially enter the race.
Jon says: “I don't know quite where he's positioning himself.”
He does note that he was previously an ally of Rishi Sunak.
That doesn’t count for much, says Emily, who jokes that Jenrick is the “JD Vance of UK politics”, Donald Trump’s running mate in the US elections.
Emily adds: “They have both been on quite a journey.. JD Vance was the guy who called Trump, toxic, horrific, America's Hitler. You know, all the rest of it.”
Meanwhile, Emily says Jenrick was brought in to be the “rational side” to Suella Braverman, the right-wing former Home Secretary with a tough stance on immigration.
Emily says: “He was meant to be the calming side to Suella. He’s ended up outSuella-ing Suealla.”
Jon argues that this kind of political journey is “being forced” on Conservatives like Jenrick and Tugendhat.
OUT: James Cleverly
James Cleverly became the first Conservative to officially throw his hat in the ring.
The moderate Tory took over as Home Secretary following Suella Braverman’s resignation, now serving as Shadow Home Secretary.
He launched his leadership bid with a piece in The Daily Telegraph, as well as with a video posted to X.
OUT: Tom Tugendhat
Emily Maitlis says everyone had previously put the former Security Minister on the moderate side of the Tories.
But he announced his leadership bid with a piece in the Daily Telegraph saying he is ready to pull the UK out of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR)
Jon Sopel says: “This is an obsession of a very small group of people.”
Emily says this reminds her of the conversation around no deal Brexit, or hard Brexit.
Speaking on the podcast, she said there were all these moderates who at the time came out and said we might have to leave the EU without a deal.
She adds: “I think it became a bigger story than what was actually going on within the European Union. It became a story of who's bossing us around who's telling us what to do. And it's exactly the same line. They've just replaced Brexit with ECHR.”
OUT: Priti Patel
Also a former home secretary with a right-wing stance, Priti Patel has officially thrown her hat in the ring.
She has claimed she can deliver “experienced and strong” leadership, adding that she can “solve the big challenges that Labour, the Lib Dems and Reform don’t have answers to”.
But Patel has also called for unity among the party, arguing it is not about the left or right, but about "competent, grown-up, experienced and strong politicians putting authentic conservative values into practice".
OUT: Mel Stride
Mel Stride launched his leadership campaign on a promise of "unity" – but, after being eliminated second, it appeared his Conservative peers weren't interested in uniting with him.
Addressing the reputation of the former government during its 14 years in power, Stride admitted it had "substantially lost the trust of the British people" along with its “reputation for competence”.
After his elimination from the contest, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions thanks people for "kind or positive" words about his potential as leader, and he "really enjoyed the journey".
"Our party’s values still run deep and strong. In time we will prevail," he added.
What questions do the Conservatives need to be asking?
Jon says: “The only question that any sensible Conservative should be asking is why did we lose the last election and what does it tell us about the state of public opinion in Britain?”
But Emily notes that we haven't heard anyone in the Conservatives acknowledge why the scale of their electoral loss “was so big, why it was so disastrous” or seen a “root and branch examination of it”.
She adds: “Everyone has leaped to the place of ‘how do we win back Reform? We came second to reform in 98 seats around the country’.
“They haven't said, how do we win back the Lib Dem seats? How do we win back the sort of moderate Labour seats, and I do think that's got to be a part of the conversation for the whole party to rebuild.”
Listen to the interview in full on The News Agents.
