James Cleverly emerges as frontrunner in UK Conservatives leadership race
Al Jazeera
The contest to replace former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will run until November 2.
Conservative lawmakers in Britain have ejected former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat from the party leadership contest, leaving three contenders still running to lead the party after its catastrophic election defeat in July.
Tugendhat garnered 20 votes in a ballot of 120 members of parliament, finishing last. Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly topped the ballot with 39 votes.
Former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick got 31 votes and ex-Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch received 30.
Another candidate will be kicked out of the race by legislators on Wednesday before tens of thousands of party members across the country choose between the final two.
The result adds to Cleverly’s momentum in the race. Cleverly, a centrist, picked up support with a well-received speech at last week’s Conservative conference. He urged the fractious party to “be more normal” and argued he had the skills to defeat the Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and return the Conservatives to power at the next election, due by 2029.
