The little-known former defense minister was defeated by Rishi Sunak in the first leadership vote – 88 votes to 67 – but is the candidate with momentum behind her as the race heats up. Ms Mordaunt overtook Liz Truss into second place ahead of a run-off vote on Wednesday and is also the overwhelming choice of the Tory base to choose the next leader, according to a bombshell poll. Steve Baker, the powerful former Brexit minister, branded Mr Sunak a “loser” in a contest that “opened” with the only certainty being that “Rishi will not be prime minister”. Penny Mordaunt at the launch of her campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party (PA) A source close to the former chancellor admitted it was “obviously a struggle”, after the results – while another ally insisted he “did well” – but there was no official response. Ms Mordaunt is now the bookmakers’ favorite – and has received the backing of Tory deputy leader Mike Penning, who has stood down to back her. The results raise the possibility that Tory members will choose a different leader to their MPs’ choice, as happened when Iain Duncan Smith defeated Ken Clarke in 2001. Rioting and lobbying immediately began to try to secure the votes of the defeated contenders for the survivors in the race, as they staked their seats on the MPs in the appeals. Ms Truss put a brave face on what was undoubtedly the disappointment of getting just 50 votes, pointing to her experience with her rival Ms Mordaunt. Rishi Sunak is still the man to beat (PA) “Liz has the experience to deliver the benefits of Brexit from day one, grow our economy and support working families,” a spokesman said. Jeremy Hunt, the defeated 2019 leadership candidate, and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi were knocked out – leaving six candidates for Thursday’s run-off. Mr Sunak had long been expected to top the poll among Tory MPs but was denied the expected clear lead over any challenger when the results were read The other candidates left standing are right-wingers Kemi Badenoch (40 votes) and Suella Braverman (32 votes), with centrist Tom Tugendhat (37 votes) sandwiched between them. But all three are believed to have little chance in the polls ahead, which are likely to end up with Sunak vs Mordaunt or Sunak vs Truss – or even Mordaunt vs Truss. There is huge pressure on candidates on the right to unite behind a single candidate, but both the Badenoch and Braverman camps have insisted they will continue to fight. Jonathan Gullis, a strong backer and supporter of Zahawi, called on his fellow right-wingers to unite behind a single candidate to secure a place in the final vote. “The right of the Tory party needs to come together and decide who to follow,” he told the Independent, without suggesting who should leave. Earlier, the breakout YouGov poll showed Ms Mordaunt, a former naval reservist, would beat Mr Sunak by 67% to 28% among party members – a huge margin. The final six candidates. Top row left to right, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt (Average PA) It put Ms Mordaunt on 27 per cent base support, almost double that of second-placed Mrs Badenoch on 15 per cent. Mr Sunak and Ms Truss both trailed badly, on just 13 per cent – as the party’s base appeared to express a desire for a purge of cabinet ministers tainted by the Boris Johnson years. Mr Tugendhat, who will now hope to pick up Mr Hunt’s votes, described it as a “fantastic result” but faces an uphill task to stay in the race after Thursday’s second vote. The ousted Mr Hunt, who won by just 18 votes, urged the remaining candidates to avoid “slander and attacks” which “bring tactical benefits in the short term but always pay off in the long term”. “The nation is watching and fed up with our drama. to be the broad church and unbeatable election winning machine our country deserves,” he tweeted. Mr Zahawi, who won just 25 votes, said he would not support any other candidate, adding: “I do not intend to intervene further.”
