James Cleverly Eliminated From Tory Leadership Race
James Cleverly gave a speech to Conservative Party conference (Alamy)
3 min read
James Cleverly has been voted out of the race to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, in a shock result.
Cleverly, the former home secretary and foreign secretary, was one of three remaining candidates running to succeed Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition after he led the Tories to defeat at the July General Election.
This largely unexpected result means remaining candidates Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick will go head-to-head to become the new party leader.
The candidates received the following number of votes in the fourth MPs' ballot on Tuesday:
- Badenoch: 42
- Jenrick: 41
- Cleverly: 37
Cleverly had been widely expected to reach the final two, given he gained an additional 18 votes between the second and third rounds, emerging as the most popular among MPs on Tuesday. Despite having been seen as an outsider when he entered the race, his speech at conference seemed well-received by MPs and led to senior Tories such as former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride publicly backing him.
However, Wednesday's shock result showed both Badenoch and Jenrick increase their support, with Badenoch coming on top by one vote. In the final few weeks of the campaign, it will a battle on the right between the two remaining candidates.
Cleverly wrote on X: "I’m grateful for the support I’ve received on this campaign from colleagues, party members and the public.
"Sadly it wasn’t to be. We are all Conservatives, and it’s important the Conservative Party unites to take on this catastrophic Labour government."
Following the results of the vote on Tuesday, a campaign spokesman for Badenoch said: "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."
A Jenrick campaign source said on Tuesday: "MPs want seriousness and competence. That's why he's won support from across the party so far – from Danny Kruger on the right to Vicky Atkins on the left."
Tom Tugendhat, the former Minister of State for Security and a leading member of the moderate One Nation caucus of Conservative MPs, was knocked out of the contest on Tuesday. Stride and former home secretary Priti Patel were both eliminated in previous voting rounds.
The two remaining candidates will now have the opportunity to set out their pitch to Tory members over the next few weeks, before the members choose the winner at the beginning of November.
As well as opposing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whoever succeeds Sunak will manage a party of 121 MPs — the smallest cohort any Conservative party leader will have overseen in more than two centuries. More than 20 per cent of that figure are new MPs elected in July.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
