UK politics live: Huge boost to Cleverly’s Tory leadership bid after shock vote win as Tugendhat eliminated

In a decisive turn of events in the Conservative leadership contest, James Cleverly emerged as the frontrunner, garnering 39 votes while Tom Tungendhat was eliminated after securing only 20.

Mr Cleverly’s performance marks a notable resurgence from his previous tally of just 21 votes in the round held before the party conference.

His strong showing is seen as a reflection of his impactful conference speech, where he was tipped as a standout candidate.

Robert Jenrick trailed closely behind Mr Clevelry with 31 votes, while Kemi Badenoch rounded out the top three with 30, having gained two votes from the previous round.

In contrast, Mr Jenrick experienced a slight decline, losing the support of two MPs.

The final vote among Conservative MPs is set to take place tomorrow, narrowing the field from three candidates to the last two, who will then face a ballot of Tory Members.

The winner is expected to be announced on 2 November.

Former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt says being stalked gave her a chilling insight into what it must be like to be the victim of domestic violence.

“When I was a member of parliament, I worked with many domestic abuse organisations and service providers. That all changed earlier this year when, for the first time, I went to the other side of the counter. I became a client.

“Over the years, I have had my share of death threats. Although I took each one seriously, they were easier to metabolise than what has happened to me and my staff over the past year,” she says.

The Conservative leadership contest continues to ramp up after the four remaining contenders made their pitches to voters and delegates at the party’s 2024 conference.

Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat are the final candidates for the Tory top spot. Although the race was announced on 5 July, the leader will not be revealed until early November – although two candidates have called for the timeframe to be cut down.

Until then, former prime minister Rishi Sunak retains the position and has refused to be drawn into the ongoing contest so far.

Here’s your guide to the four candidates to be the next Conservative Party leader:

Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged the “sober findings” outlined in a speech by the head of MI5 but said the public should be “reassured that our security services are world class and will do everything necessary to keep us safe”.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “The prime minister would like to take this opportunity to thank the security services for the work that they do day in and day out to keep us all safe.

“These rare public interventions are a reminder of the work they do without public recognition.

“These are sober findings but the public should be reassured that our security services are world class and will do everything necessary to keep us safe.

“In terms of the specific findings, again, what was very clear from the director general is we remain alert and vigilant to all risks, and in turn we will always ensure that our police and security services have the tools that they need to manage the evolving threats that we face.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering making a major change to the UK’s fiscal rules at the Budget on 30 October – and experts say the shift could unlock an extra £57 billion for infrastructure spending.

Ahead of the general election, Labour pledged to follow two rules. The first was that in the current budget costs are met by revenues such as tax.

This has proven much more of a challenge for Ms Reeves than anticipated after she unveiled Treasury analysis in late July which showed a £22 billion shortfall in public spending.

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James Cleverly has shown his rivals a demonstration of the influence political party conferences can wield.

Following a dynamic performance in Birmingham, the shadow home secretary has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak.

The result allowed him to effectively counter prior criticisms regarding his sense of humour and past behaviours.

He previously said the ideal spouse was “someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there”.

But his ability to connect with the party has proven pivotal in this contest.

Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick, who was a key frontrunner, has witnessed a decline in his support, losing two MPs who previously backed him.

At the conference, the former immigration secretary had sought to draw parallels with David Cameron’s 2005 rise, positioning himself as a fresh face to surpass veteran rival David Davis.

His conference performance was overshadowed by backlash over his claims that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.

Rather than following the former prime minsiter’s footsteps, he seems to have taken a misstep.

Kemi Badenoch is rallying supporters of Robert Jenrick to pivot their backing towards her campaign as the Tory leadership race narrows to three contenders.

A spokesperson for the shadow secretary said: “There are three candidates left in this contest, two are gaining votes and one is going backwards and losing support.

“The right of the Conservative Party now needs to coalesce around Kemi, who can reach across and unify the party, has the star quality to cut through in opposition, and is indisputably the members’ choice for leader.”

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has taken to social media to announce that Reform UK’s membership has increased to 90,000.

The last time the party revealed the numbers, it stood at 85,000.