UK politics live: Centrist Tories reject both leadership rivals as Jenrick attacks Badenoch’s ‘needless drama’

Conservative MPs stunned Westminster by pivoting to the right and ditching centrist candidate James Cleverly in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak.

In a shock result, the former home secretary was knocked out of the contest on Wednesday afternoon, leaving Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch – both candidates favoured by the right of the party – to face a vote of the membership.

You can read the full story below:

Welcome back to the politics live blog.

It’s a busy day in Westminster, with a mix of international diplomacy, domestic fiscal challenges and political manoeuvring at play.

• First on the agenda, Sir Keir Starmer is set to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street, who is in a European tour to rally more support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

• The prime minister will also meet Nato’s new general secretary Mark Rutte.

• Meanwhile, the economic outlook is looking tense. A report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned that £25 billion in tax rises may be necessary to sustain the government’s spending plans.

• With the budget looming on 30 October, chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a tricky task of balancing fiscal responsibility with public reluctance towards tax hikes or spending cuts.

• In the Tory leadership contest, James Cleverly’s surprising exit has shocked many. A ‘failed’ tactical voting effort left Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch as the last contenders.

• Elsewhere, home secretary Yvette Cooper is facing scrutiny after pushing for enhanced security for Taylor Swift before attending one of her concerts.

Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Downing Street on Thursday as he tours European nations seeking support for Ukraine’s resistance against Russia.

The Ukrainian president will meet Sir Keir Starmer and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, with the Prime Minister expected to underline the UK’s commitment to the defence of Ukraine.

The visit will be Mr Zelensky’s second trip to Number 10 since Sir Keir came to power after he addressed an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet in July.

In an exchange in a BBC Radio interview less than two hours after Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick, South Holland and The Deeping MP Sir John said: “Robert has a much broader experience of government than Kemi. He is appealing and can unite the party. We don’t need an irascible leadership. We want a leadership that is emollient but principled.”

When Droitwich and Evesham MP Mr Huddleston was asked to respond to the suggestion that Ms Badenoch is “irascible”, he said: “Kemi can connect with lots of people. Her message is very different from the others. She starts from first principles and values that will unite all Conservatives. Other candidates have gone out there with very deep dive specific policies.”

The Tory civil war has erupted again after MPs decided to make the leadership final the most right-wing in the party’s history.

Less than two hours after hard-right candidates Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick made it to the last round of the Tory leadership contest, the camps started attacking each other.

Jenrick cheerleader Tory MP Sir John Hayes took a sideswipe at Ms Badenoch, saying the Conservatives do not want an “irascible leadership” – a thinly veiled reference to claims that she is “abrasive” at times.

The Government will today announce details of new rights for workers, including plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “unscrupulous” fire and rehire practices which it said will benefit millions of workers.

Ministers described the Employment Rights Bill as the biggest boost to pay and productivity in the workplace in a generation.

Unions warmly welcomed the measures as a “seismic shift” from the low pay, low productivity economy they accused the previous Conservative government of presiding over.

There are 28 separate changes in the Bill, with most of them not expected to be implemented before the autumn of 2026.

Some measures, such as the right to “switch off” at the end of a working day, are not in the Bill but will be included in a so-called Next Steps document for further consideration and consultation.

Under the Bill, the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed and workers will have the right from the first day in a job.

Ministers say this will benefit nine million workers who have been with their employer for less than two years.

Rachel Reeves may need to raise up to £25 billion from tax increases if she wants to keep spending rising with national income, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates.

Even if the Chancellor changes the debt rule she inherited from the Tories, this would do “almost nothing” to ease the challenge on public service funding, the IFS said as it released its Green Budget report.

Because of her promise to meet day-to-day spending out of revenues, Ms Reeves would still need to turn to tax rises to avoid spending cuts and meet her pledge to borrow only to invest.

IFS director Paul Johnson said Ms Reeves’ first Budget, which she will deliver on October 30, could be “the most consequential since at least 2010”.

The report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and using economic forecasting by Citi, analysed the challenges facing the Chancellor.

In a scenario modelled by Citi, the report concluded that if there are no cuts to spending outside of public services, Ms Reeves would need a tax rise of £16 billion to remain on course to balance the budget in 2028-29.

This would be on top of the £9 billion tax rise from measures set out in Labour’s manifesto – adding up to almost £25 billion in total.

The next decade of workplace pensions saving should be more flexible and help low earners to build up a savings safety net that they can draw on before they retire, according to a think tank.

The Resolution Foundation said more focus is needed on addressing the different challenges faced by low, middle and higher earners.

It said the first decade of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has improved private pension coverage and boosted people’s savings pots.

But while a “one-size-fits-all” approach has worked well for the first chapter of auto-enrolment, the next chapter will require both a boost to saving rates and a more flexible approach, to reflect the different challenges that low, middle and higher earners face, it added.

The report argues that default contribution rates into auto-enrolment should continue to rise over the next decade, initially from 8% to 10%.