Two of the most right wing Conservative MPs will face-off to become the new Tory leader following the party’s hammering at the general election.
Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch will be the next Leader of the Opposition after James Cleverly was knocked out in the latest round of voting.
The former home secretary was eliminated in Wednesday’s ballot of Tory MPs, following Tom Tugendhat who was knocked out on Tuesday.
Badenoch won 42 votes and Mr Jenrick 41 votes, to Cleverly’s 37 votes in the latest ballot, with 120 Tory MPs having taken part.
The final round of the contest will now see Conservative Party members across the UK vote to select the successor to Rishi Sunak.
The result will be announced on November 2.
Badenoch and Jenrick are both seen as candidates favoured by the right of the Conservative Party, while Cleverly was thought of as a more centre-ground Tory.
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves MP said: “After months of gaffes, wild unfunded policies and infighting, Tory members now have the unenviable task of choosing between two of the architects of Tory failure.
“Both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are central figures in 14 years of hapless leadership and decline, and have already proven they’ve learned nothing from the mistakes that took the Conservative Party to its worst defeat in modern history.
“While the endless bickering continues, Labour is fixing the foundations and sorting out the mess that these two deeply unimpressive figures left behind.”
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