The poll of 850 members, by the ConservativeHome website on Saturday, put Mrs Badenoch in first place with 31 per cent, up from 19 per cent last Monday. Ms Truss was second on 20%, down from 11%, while Ms Mordant’s support stalled, with her support falling from 20% to 18%. Rishi Sunak was in fourth place with 17 percent, up from 12 percent last Monday, while Tom Tugendhat was fifth with 10 percent, up from 7 percent. Lee Rowley, the Tory MP who helped run Ms Badenoch’s campaign, told the Telegraph: “Kemi enjoyed yesterday’s debate. Of course she has many conversations with colleagues as she wants them to support her message for change.” In a statement to the Telegraph on Saturday night, Mr Afriyie, the MP for Windsor since 2005, said: “I honestly believe that Kemi is our only hope of connecting with the people and winning the election.” Ms Badenoch was now best placed to garner votes, with Mr Tugendhat expected to finish last in the third round of voting on Monday, he said. In her Telegraph article, Ms Badenoch said “the government must do less, better”. He linked reducing immigration to taking pressure off housing, saying: “Building more houses without doing anything to reduce immigration is like running on an escalator. “We will never get where we need to go with this approach and get people to accept more homes if it is because of failures in immigration. If we can reduce immigration to a sustainable level, then we can protect green spaces for our children and valuable farmland.”
