Make Or Break For Badenoch And New Pro-Boris Campaign

Can Kemi Badenoch make it to the run-off vote?

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A Huge Day For Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch’s remarkable leadership campaign continued yesterday as she finished fourth place in the vote of Conservative MPs, picking up the support of another 9 MPs - 58 in total.

That meant she actually gained on Liz Truss who picked up the support of an additional 7 (71 total). Whilst Rishi Sunak is well in the lead with the support of 115 MPs, Penny Mordaunt saw her support actually fall by a single MP down to 82.

The wildcard here is what the eliminated candidate Tom Tugendhat’s supporters do next. He received 31 votes and where those now go is the big question.

A place in the run-off has always been seen as a long-shot for Badenoch’s campaign and despite her momentum the prospect of Conservative members being given a choice of Sunak vs. Mordaunt or Truss has always seemed the more likely outcome.

But if Conservative MPs listen to the Tory grassroots, the outcome is clear: they want Badenoch on the final ballot. The incredible numbers recently released confirm that.