Rishi Sunak tops Tory leadership poll, as Tugendhat drops out of race

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak has topped the third MPs' vote for the next Tory leader and prime minister, with backbencher Tom Tugendhat eliminated.

Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt took second place, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was third and ex-equalities minister Kemi Badenoch was fourth.

The four remaining candidates go to another round of voting on Tuesday.

The field will be cut to two on Wednesday, with Conservative Party members then having the final say.

The placings were the same as in the second round of voting last Thursday, but Sunak picked up 14 more votes, Badenoch nine and Truss seven.

Mordaunt's support dropped by one vote, as did Tugendhat's.

In a statement, Tugendhat said: "I want to thank my team, colleagues and, most of all, the British people for their support.

"I have been overwhelmed by the response we have received across the country. People are ready for a clean start and our party must deliver on it and put trust back into politics."

A source within Truss's campaign told the BBC: "We've narrowed the gap to Penny pretty considerably. Story is Penny going backwards. All to play for!"

But Mordaunt said: "My vote is steady and I'm grateful to my colleagues for all their support and thrilled to be in second place once more."

A prominent Sunak supporter said: "That's a cracking result - Rishi gaining most [votes]."

And a Badenoch campaign source said: "Kemi is pleased to have taken it to the next vote. She has momentum over both Mordaunt and Truss. It's all to play for and Kemi is in it to win."

The Tory leadership contest has become increasingly bitter and personal in tone, as those left in it fight for the final two places.

Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would resign earlier this month after his scandal-ridden administration lost the support of many in his ruling Conservative Party, the race to replace him has taken an ugly turn with several contenders turning their fire on the frontrunner Sunak.

He has faced criticism on everything from his record in government to the wealth of his wife by those vying to make it to a run-off between the final two candidates, with foreign secretary Truss and Mordaunt, currently a junior trade minister, his most likely opponents.

Sunak, Mordaunt and Truss clashed in an ITV-hosted debate on Sunday over their economic policies.

The race has become focused on pledges, or non-pledges, to cut taxes, at a time when Britain's economy is beset with spiralling inflation, high debt and low growth that have left people with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades.

Truss has also come under fire for saying she would change the Bank of England's mandate.

Truss's campaign tried to buttress their argument for lower taxes by citing a report by The Centre for Economic and Business Research, a private sector think tank, showing there was more room for manoeuvre from higher tax receipts.

But a top Bank of England official, Michael Saunders, pushed back at her suggestion the government should set a "clear direction of travel" for monetary policy, saying the foundations of Britain's framework were best left untouched.

"The government very clearly does not set the direction of travel for monetary policy," Saunders, one of nine members of the interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee, said at a Resolution Foundation event in London.

A Sky News debate scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled after Sunak and Truss declined to take part, and amid concern among senior Tories that angry arguments in public could damage the party.

The new Tory leader and prime minister is due to be announced on 5 September.

Vote of confidence held

Separately, the government won a vote of confidence in itself in the House of Commons.

It could have led to a general election, had ministers been defeated.

But this would have required dozens of Conservative MPs to side with Labour and other opposition parties.

Opening the debate, Johnson said he was still in charge of "one of the most dynamic governments of modern times".

He told MPs: "He [Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer] wants [a confidence vote] and since they want one, it's his constitutional prerogative, we will comply and we will win."

He also told the Commons: "Some people will say as I leave office that this is the end of Brexit, and the Leader of the Opposition and the deep state will prevail in its plot to haul us back into alignment with the EU as a prelude to our eventual return, and we on this side of the House will prove them wrong, won't we?" Tory MPs cheered in response.

Sir Keir responded to the PM's speech, saying: "Unlike his predecessors, this prime minister has not been forced out over policy disagreements.

"And despite the delusions he has fostered in his bunker, he has not been felled by the stampede of an eccentric herd. Instead, he has been forced out in disgrace."

The government won by 349 votes to 238, a majority of 111.

- BBC / Reuters