Clever in the race for the Tory leadership, as Stimmehat has been voted out

Tom Tugendhat has dropped out of the Conservative leadership race, leaving three candidates to face another round of voting by MPs on Wednesday.

James Cleverly took the lead with 39 votes, jumping from third place in the final vote after a strong performance at last week's Conservative conference.

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick came second with 31 votes, down two votes from last time. Kemi Badenoch came a close third with 30 votes – two more than in the last round. virtuehat received 20 votes.

The candidates have no time to rest as MPs will select the final two tomorrow – which will then be voted on by party members over the next three weeks.

The new leader will be announced on November 2nd.

In one Social media post After the results, Stimmehat thanked his supporters.

“Your energy, your ideas and your support have shown a vision of what our party could become,” he said.

“Our campaign is over, but our commitment to our country continues.”

With Badenoch and Jenrick in a tight race, the battle now shifts to winning over Stimmehat's supporters.

Cleverly is just one vote away from securing his place in the bottom two, having won just under a third of the 121 remaining Tory MPs.

Both Cleverly and Badenoch raised their voices after a round of speeches and interviews The Conservative party conference last week.

The three remaining candidates posted on social media to thank their supporters.

Despite the increase in votes, Cleverly told his followers in an interview that “the work is not done.” Social media post.

“I look forward to continuing to spread our positive conservative message,” he added.

Badenoch expressed her condolences to Stimmehat and then celebrated her increasing support, saying: “I am pleased by the increasing support and grateful to all my colleagues who voted for me.”

Jenrick said: “I am once again incredibly grateful for the support of colleagues across our party.”

He also thanked Stimmehatwhich he said “showed the best of our group.”

News from the rival camp shows Jenrick and Badenoch fighting for the support of the right-wing party as they try to reach the final two. While Cleverly is now likely to reach the final round as a One Nation wing candidate.

A spokesman for Badenoch's campaign said: “There are three candidates left in this contest, two winning votes and one falling behind and losing support.”

“The right of the Conservative Party must now unite around Kemi, who is capable of uniting and unifying the party, who has the star qualities to prevail in opposition and is the undeniable member's choice for leader .”

A spokesman for Jenrick's campaign said: “Robert is now in the best position to make it to the final two.”

“MPs want seriousness and competence,” the spokesman said, pointing out that Jenrick had won support from various wings of the party.

The winner of the leadership contest will replace former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who resigned as party leader after leading the Conservatives to their worst result in July's general election.

Former Minister of the Interior Priti Patel was eliminated in the first round Tory MPs vote in September, followed by shadow pensions secretary Mel Stride a week later.

In the days before the results were announced, there was a flood of endorsements for the leadership candidates.

Cleverly got a boost Monday when he was endorsed by former front-runner Stride, who won 16 votes in the final round. In total, Cleverly gained 18 votes compared to the last round.

Hamble Valley MP Paul Holmes resigned as Tory whip to also publicly support Cleverly on Tuesday.

While Badenoch received support from former Cabinet Secretary David Davis and another from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The BBC understands that former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not vote in the leadership election and has no plans to support any candidate.

At the most recent party conference, the The final four candidates all gave important speeches They set out their visions for reforming the party after its historic defeat in this year's general election.

Party members were cleverly told that the Conservatives needed to be more “normal” to win back voters who had deserted them for Reform UK.

Jenrick called for a “new Conservative Party” and promised “an effective freeze on net migration,” while Badenoch said she would “reprogram the British state based on “renewed Conservative principles.”

Each candidate also attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying his party could win the next general election under their leadership, but not without a change of direction.