The International Trade Secretary was 18 percentage points ahead of Ms Truss, but the Foreign Secretary opened up a seven-point lead of 48 per cent to 41 per cent. Last week, Ms Mordaunt was named by separate ConservativeHome and YouGov polls as Tory MPs’ choice for next prime minister – but she has now been ousted by Ms Badenoch and also overtaken by Ms Truss. Ms Badenoch’s supporters are also hopeful that the friendship between her and Mr Tugendhat will lead to her securing his personal support. “There’s no good reason why Tom couldn’t support Kemi,” a supporter said. “Kemi is very close friends with Tom – they have a close personal relationship.” A separate poll by Bradshaw Advisory, a political consultancy, released on Sunday, found Ms Badenoch outperformed Mr Tugendhat in several categories Conservative voters were asked about, including being charismatic, looking decisive and appearing with someone they would vote for.
