Rishi Sunak, former chancellor to the exchequer, widened his lead on Monday night as 115 MPs extended their support to him in the latest round of voting. Penny Mordaunt, who secured 82 votes, retained her second position.
Liz Truss won the backing of 71 MPs, winning the backing of seven new MPs as she won the backing of 64 MPs in the second round of voting held on July 14. Kemi Badenoch also gained the support of nine new MPs with 58 votes. Tom Tugendhat was knocked out of the race with only 31 MPs backing him.
All eyes will now be on those 31 MPs as contenders will try to win their backing since Tugendhat is knocked out of the race.
The next round of voting will be held on Tuesday and by Wednesday the candidates will be whittled down to two.
“People are ready for a clean start and our party must deliver on it and put trust back into politics,” Tugendhat was quoted as saying after his exit by news agency BBC. He said he was overwhelmed with the support he received from all over the UK.
Backers of Liz Truss and her campaign team feel that after Tuesday’s round of voting they will be able to oust Penny Mordaunt. Mordaunt retained her spot but lost one backer.
On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak is expected to elaborate on his plans to introduce a new offence for those individuals who are connected to a grooming gang and also for those who facilitate abuse by grooming gangs.
Grooming gangs are groups of men who befriend minors with the objective of gaining their trust with the aim to sexually exploit them at a later stage.
The UK has witnessed several major cases of grooming gangs notably in Huddersfield and Telford, which drew international condemnation.
According to the Guardian, Sunak will also talk about introducing an offence for clicking downblousing” pictures down women’s tops.
Sunak’s campaign team said that momentum is on their side. Kemi Badenoch’s team also said that the former equalities minister is still in the race and she will win it.
Meanwhile, Truss and Sunak pulled out of a TV debate which was to be hosted by Sky News. The cancellation comes after there were heated exchanges between the contenders in the previous debate where the contenders attacked each other personally.
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