JAMES CLEVERLY has crashed out of the Tory leadership contest – pitting Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick in a battle for the crown.
A shock final vote of Conservative MPs saw Mr Cleverly plummet from the top spot to last place in the space of 24 hours.
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The Shadow Home Secretary – viewed as the centrist candidate – dropped from 39 votes to 37.
Ms Badenoch shot from 30 to 42, with Mr Jenrick just behind on 41 having gone up from 31.
It means the right-wingers will face off in a final ballot of around 150,000 Tory members.
The bitter rivals will slug it out for almost a month before a winner is declared on November 2.
Mr Cleverly went into the final round as the bookies’ favourite after a dominating performance at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham last week.
He shocked onlookers yesterday after leapfrogging Mr Jenrick into first place.
But now Ms Badenoch is the frontrunner given her popularity with party members.
The Shadow Communities Secretary went into the final 24 hours of campaigning insisting the members’ deserve that chance to vote for her.
After yesterday’s ballot – which knocked out Tom Tugendhat – Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch were virtually neck and neck, on 31 and 30 votes respectively.
It sparked a last-gasp push for supporters, with both claiming to be the best standard-bearer of the Tory right against Mr Cleverly.
Tory leadership results – fourth round
THE fourth round results:
Kemi Badenoch: 42
Robert Jenrick: 41
James Cleverly: 37
How the contest works:
September 4: First round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate
September 10: Second round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate
September 29 – October 2: Final four candidates make their pitches at Conservative party conference in Birmingham
October 8: Third round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate
October 9: Fourth round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate. The final two go to a vote of the wider party membership.
November 2: New Tory leader announced
