Truss also won the support of Braverman supporter Steve Baker, the former Brexit secretary, and Lord David Frost, who launched a scathing attack on Truss’ rival Penny Mordaunt, the trade secretary, in the process. The foreign secretary is the favored candidate of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s supporters and has tried to appeal to the low-tax, pro-Brexit wing of the Conservative Party. But she is struggling to build momentum in her bid to become the next Tory leader. Mordaunt scored a surprise success in the leadership campaign, with a message combining Brexit, social liberalism and the offer of a “new start”. Truss remains in third place behind former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Mordaunt, making the next few days crucial for her campaign as she tries to gain ground on her rivals. Braverman, who was voted out of the leadership in a second round of voting by Tory MPs on Thursday, announced she would back Trudeau to get Brexit done and take a firm line on immigration, tax cuts and shrinking the state. Braverman, who described herself as the only “authentic” Brexiter, secured just 27 votes. Truss won 64 votes in the second round, trailing Mordant with 83 and Sunak with 101. She will hope to collect many of Braverman’s 27 votes in the next round of voting on Monday. In his Daily Telegraph column, Frost urged another pro-Brexit candidate, Kemi Badenoch, to stand down “in exchange for a serious job in a Truss administration” to allow the Tory right to unite. Badenoch, who won 49 votes on Thursday, said she had no intention of withdrawing from the race and was in it “to win it”. Frost also renewed his criticism of Mordaunt, who he worked with on Brexit issues as a cabinet minister. He said she was “not fully in charge or always visible” during talks with Brussels.

Badenoch, who also gained momentum in the contest, and Tom Tugendhat, the moderate One Nation candidate who won 32 votes, hope to use a series of televised contests to boost their profiles. Channel 4 will host a debate on Friday night, with ITV hosting a second event on Sunday and Sky News early next week. If Tugendhat is defeated in the next round of voting on Monday, Sunak will hope to win many of his votes. He needs the support of 120 of his colleagues to be sure of making it to the final list of two, which will be presented to party members in the summer. If Badenoch are subsequently relegated then Truss and Mordaunt will be locked in a desperate battle to win the support of their supporters to reach the final second round. A new Tory leader and prime minister will be named on September 5.