Tory leadership

T. he final Tory leadership TV debate has been cancelled after the frontrunners, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, refused to take part. The five remaining candidates ...

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace replied: “I would be happy for him to share me his 800 figure. “There have been a number of times when she hasn’t been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces.” The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As you would expect the Prime Minister will set out some of the achievements of the Government.” “So there have been a number of times when she [Mordaunt] hasn’t been available which would have been useful and other ministers have picked up the pieces, yes.” Boris Johnson will use the debate on a motion of confidence in his Government to defend his record in office. Downing Street said a “range of measures” were in place to cope with temperatures reaching up to 40C on Monday and Tuesday. At Defence Questions, shadow secretary of state John Healey congratulated ministers for remaining in post “whilst the rest of the Conservative Government have collapsed in chaos”. “When the House returns in the autumn I’d expect members to revert to wearing a jacket.” “Therefore, while the heat remains at this exceptional level and for the remainder of this week, I’m content for members not to wear jackets and ties in the chamber if they so choose,” he said. An insider in the Foreign Secretary’s campaign told the Standard “it was not necessary to take part at this stage”. They added that Ms Truss would be “happy” to be part of a debate if she made the final two. In an email announcing the debate’s cancellation, Sky News said: “Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party. MPs have been told they can ditch their jackets in the House of Commons chamber for the rest of the week due to soaring temperatures.

Two of the ​three candidates currently leading in the MPs ballots - Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss - have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take ...

The broadcasters should stop squabbling amongst themselves. In a statement, the team said: ‘It’s a shame some colleagues cannot find a way to debate one another in a civil way. ‘With more than a dozen hustings already having taken place the voters in this part of the contest have more than had the opportunity to see the contestants.’ Sky News had said the debate would present ‘a unique opportunity to re-engage a disillusioned electorate.’ ‘Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party. Two of the three hopefuls leading in the MPs ballots – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – confirmed to Sky News that they did not wish to take part.

The third televised debate of the Conservative leadership contest has been cancelled after former chancellor Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss ...

The cancelled debate - due to be held on Tuesday evening - comes amid despair from Conservative MPs at the increasingly divisive and bitter contest.

She added: “The country deserves better than Tory candidates hiding from scrutiny simply because their first two performances have shown they would be a danger to the economy and the future of the UK“This is a hopelessly divided Tory party, one that has racked up over £300 billion in unfunded promises and yet still has no plan to get to grips with their cost of living crisis. Ms Mourdant came under fire on Monday from her boss who claimed she missed ministerial meetings because she was plotting her Tory leadership bid.The trade minister’s absence from meetings forced colleagues to pick up the pieces, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan alleged in a scathing attack on the leadership hopeful. Only a Labour government can give Britain the fresh start it needs.” “And I think for millions of people, particularly with the heatwave today, they’ll be saying I want a government that’s focused on the day job, that’s getting on with resilience for today and tomorrow, however long this heatwave goes on, and focused on the cost-of-living crisis.” “Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party. In a statement, Sky said: “Two of the three candidates currently leading in the MPs ballots, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part.

The second Tory leadership election debate aired on ITV on Sunday ahead of the next vote, which will whittle the candidates down to four.

We need to make sure we’re winning Conservative seats across the country, and even really good people lent credibility to the chaos.” (On why the winner should not have worked for Boris Johnson) Voting will take place between 5pm and 7pm, with the result announced at 8pm. And it seems that we’re removed from the real problems that they are facing, they need some immediate action now, I don’t understand why Rishi doesn’t accept that.” It won’t. There’s a cost to these things and the cost of higher inflation, higher mortgage rates, eroded savings. When I was working in the Treasury, it was always a choice between difficult option A, terrible option B or mad option C.” “I’d love to stand here and say ‘look, I’ll cut this tax, that tax and another tax and it will all be okay’. But you know what?

In a sign of concern about the way the leadership race is being conducted, Conservative Party leadership frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss confirmed ...

She has accused schools of teaching white privilege as an uncontested fact, saying it was illegal and she did not want white children being taught about “their inherited racial guilt”. It’s clearly a really raw issue for a lot of the team.” They want to depict me as ‘woke’. I was elected by the no-nonsense, down-to-earth people of Portsmouth North. It was a Labour seat. In the same month, Black business leaders wrote to Mr Sunak, other government ministers and the chief executives of Britain’s largest lenders, to demand action to improve credit provision and other support for Black, Asian and minority ethnic entrepreneurs. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. I refer you to their judgment.” Black and Asian families are among the country’s poorest. The MP has never spoken in support of the global Black Lives Matter movement and caused offence by saying the UK’s response to a Black teenager being strip-searched at school “proves this country doesn’t have a problem with race”. His ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme saw a spike in transmissions ravage the most vulnerable communities. At this time, it was confirmed that Black business owners were less likely to access crucial funding during the pandemic but their businesses were more likely to close. Writing for The Independent in response to Ms Truss’ remarks, Labour MP Diane Abbott accused the politician of “dismissing concerns about racial and gender inequality as merely ‘fashionable’ in a crude attempt to appeal to white ‘Red Wall’ voters”. During a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies think tank in December 2020, when she was equalities minister, Ms Truss denounced the focus on race, sexuality and gender issues as “tools of the left”.

All five Tory leadership candidates have now announced their support for net zero after Kemi Badenoch became the fifth on Monday.

“Net zero is also delivering investment and jobs into the north and red wall constituencies that are benefitting from a green industrial revolution. We are seen as international leaders. Chris Skidmore, former energy minister and chairman of the Net Zero Support Group of Conservative MPs, said he was “delighted” all five candidates have now signed up to the pledge.

Each candidate to be asked to prove climate credentials at green hustings on Monday, as UK heatwave hits.

Net zero is one of the clearest economic trends we have, and that’s reiterated by businesses in the UK and by businesses internationally,” he said. He said: “Anyone aspiring to lead our country needs to demonstrate that they take this issue incredibly seriously. “If you look at all the polling that is out there, this is an issue that matters to all people, but also matters very much to people who vote Conservative.” Although all of the remaining candidates apart from Kemi Badenoch have endorsed the net zero target, there are doubts over whether they will push forward on the policies needed to achieve that goal. “Any candidate aspiring to be our next prime minister who doesn’t think we are facing a climate emergency needs to consider the temperatures we are seeing in the UK, across Europe and beyond,” he said. “I hope every candidate will have read the government’s net zero strategy, our British energy security strategy.

We face a grim future if the climate crisis is not properly addressed, but none of the prospective Tory party leaders appear interested in discussing it.

Despite some overtures to decarbonisation, Sunak did not materialise as a champion of the UK’s net zero targets while he was in charge of the budget. Tugendhat has also announced he will slash fuel duty – widely seen as a regressive measure when nearly a quarter of all the UK’s emissions come from transport. At a 1922 Committee hustings event this week, Mordaunt confirmed that she would keep the UK’s 2050 net zero target. Sunak was also criticised for making no mention of climate change in his address to the 2021 Conservative Party conference. Analysts and campaigners criticised the move however, calling it a “missed opportunity” for climate and warning generous tax breaks would further incentivise oil and gas development. Cox runs an All-Party Parliamentary Group with Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay, chair of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, which has extensive ties to the GWPF. When asked at a 1922 Committee hustings event this week, Truss said she would keep the UK’s 2050 net zero target. As environment secretary between 2014-2016 she cut subsidies for solar farms, calling them “a blight on the landscape”, and claimed they were harming food production. She has spoken at multiple events organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the Adam Smith Institute. The bad news is that the people running to lead the government of our four nations don't seem to give a damn. This is well on the way to causing a catastrophe beyond anything humanity has ever seen. The good news is we know exactly what we need to do to fix it.

Just 4% of Conservative members put the hitting 'net zero' emissions by 2050 was in their top three priorities for the next Tory party leader.

And I hope that we will see, particularly with the final two, a very clear statement that this is an agenda that they do support." And we need to see who actually ends up in No 10. I think we need to see where the candidates are.

The pair were said to be keen to focus instead on the final ballot of Tory MPs on Wednesday, but there are reported to be fears that the previous two debates ...

“So I think it’s very, very important that I went to that memorial. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. He described it as an “extraordinary” memorial that “forces you to think and think again about all the murdered Jews in Europe”, as well as the “shared determination that we have as leaders now to make sure that that should never ever be repeated”. There is a “major hole at the centre of government” over the resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure to climate change, a parliamentary committee has warned. Labour have accused Boris Johnson of “clocking off”, after it was confirmed he will miss a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee today to discuss the current heatwave. He is reported by The Times to have turned to her after the ITV-hosted debate ended, to ask: “Why are we doing this?”

Penny Mordaunt has dropped a vote in the third-round ballot. Rishi Sunak is just five off the much-needed 120 to get through o the final two. Liz Truss gained ...

He added: "All political parties are standing coalitions and the Conservative Party is the same. "The need to put an end to this Tory Government is underlined by the terrifying spectacle of the leadership race that is under way throughout this building. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Good morning from London. I’m Tara Fair, I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the Tory Party leadership contest. "The broadcasters should stop squabbling amongst themselves. The five Tory leadership hopefuls Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordant, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat clashed on issues from Brexit to the cost of living crisis. I suspect he will go odds-on as the field narrows.” Good afternoon I'm Francesca Edwards, I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments on the Tory party leadership contest for the next eight hours. "But, please, I'm not going to be talking about any candidates at the moment. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! He continued: “Mordaunt Mania was a bizarre phenomenon. You can never take anything for granted."

Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch will now go through to the next round tomorrow before a final announcement on Wednesday at 4pm ...

One Tory MP said: "The division, smears and personal attacks this weekend have been disgraceful. I have been overwhelmed by the response we have received across the country. Mordaunt supporter George Freeman told Sky News: “After the three days of pounding she’s had in the media I’m delighted she’s held second place. "There have been a number of times when she hasn't been available, which would have been useful, and other ministers have picked up the pieces." People are ready for a clean start and our party must deliver on it and put trust back into politics." Sources told the Times that at the end of Friday's vitriolic leadership debate on Channel 4, Mr Sunak turned to her and asked: "Why are we doing this?"

From Liz Truss's Thatcher throwbacks to Rishi Sunak's too-slick suits: how the frontrunners' wardrobes are — or are not — helping their campaigns.

The four remaining candidates go to another round of voting on Tuesday. The field will be cut to two on Wednesday, with Conservative Party members then having ...

And a Badenoch campaign source said: "Kemi is pleased to have taken it to the next vote. Instead, he has been forced out in disgrace." Tory MPs cheered in response. People are ready for a clean start and our party must deliver on it and put trust back into politics." Momentum." All to play for!"

Pressure still on foreign secretary in leadership race as she gains just seven new backers in latest round.

Some of the ousted MP’s supporters said they would meet after the vote for a commiseration drink and discuss with each other who to back instead. “That’s going to undermine his position, because as a former chancellor, for him to go on level pegging, that’s damning.” The MP said he had been offered jobs in future administrations if he dropped out of the race, but he wanted to see party democracy run its course. Sunak gained 14 supporters from the last ballot, to put him on a total of 115, trailed by Penny Mordaunt, who lost one, giving her a total of 82. “This is about day one competence, she is showing she has always had the best depth and breadth of experience,” he added. “The threat we face is existential.”

Liz Truss, foreign secretary, on Tuesday narrowed the gap with trade minister Penny Mordaunt as they battled to join former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the ...

Foreign secretary draws slightly closer to top two, but fails to pick up as much support as Kemi Badenoch.

“Nobody has been attacked more savagely in the press.” Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Chloe Smith MP, a member of the One Nation caucus campaigning for Ms Truss, pleaded for fellow moderates in the party to look again the foreign secretary for the leadership. Ms Mordaunt, who shares a military background with Mr Tugendhat, added: “I know that we are both committed to a clean start for our party and I believe he is one of the strongest assets on the Conservative green benches.” Mr Tugendhat, the only candidate never to have held ministerial office, said he was “overwhelmed” by the scale of his support, which he said showed the country was “ready for a clean start” which would “put trust back into politics”. With a sizeable chunk of Mr Tugendhat’s backers expected to switch to the international trade minister in the next round of voting on Tuesday, Ms Truss’s hopes will depend on wooing supporters of “anti-woke” insurgent Kemi Badenoch.

LIZ TRUSS once again failed to catch Penny Mordaunt in the latest Tory leadership vote tonight, as Tom Tugendhat was axed from the contest.

He added: "All political parties are standing coalitions and the Conservative Party is the same. But who is the favourite to win right now? Public scrutiny matters." The current trade minister was backed by 82 MPs, down one on the last round, but still clearly ahead in second place. He said he was confident MPs would pull together in a "spirit of harmony and love" after the leadership campaign. "The C4 debate, in particular, was a massive mistake and candidates were wrong to take part in it." "Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party. Sky News said in a statement: "Two of the three candidates currently leading in the MPs ballots - Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss - have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part. An insider in Ms Truss's leadership campaign claimed the debate on Friday night had been a "mistake" and had led to candidates slinging mud at each other. This morning, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss pulled out of a planned TV debate organised by Sky tomorrow night in a bid to ease the tensions overshadowing the contest. The sourness of the leadership race has continued to ratchet up in recent days as the race to make it into the membership ballot heats up. Her failure to leapfrog Ms Mordaunt comes despite the South West Norfolk MP launching a attack on Mr Sunak last night in a bid to prove she was the candidate who would stand up to the former Chancellor in the final round of voting.

Sky News has cancelled the third scheduled TV debate in the Conservative leadership race after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out of the event following a ...

The Daily Mail, a strong supporter of Truss, has targeted Mordaunt in particular. The cancellation follows sometimes brutal exchanges in TV debates on Friday and Sunday over taxation plans, and about social issues such as transgender rights. “Two of the three candidates currently leading in the MPs’ ballots – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – have confirmed to Sky News that they do not want to take part,” the broadcaster announced in a statement.

Rishi Sunak topped Monday's ballot with 115 votes, ahead of Penny Mordaunt on 82, Liz Truss on 71, and Kemi Badenoch on 58.

Penny Mordaunt MP said: “My vote is steady and I’m grateful to my colleagues for all their support and thrilled to be in second place once more. “MPs are recognising that Rishi has the best experience and plans to deal with the current economic situation. It was an honour to stand alongside him in this contest” “Tom Tugendhat ran a campaign that he can be very proud of and he has shown the depth of quality in the Conservative Party. “We’ve seen that in the response to the two debates, we’ve seen that in the engagement we’ve had from people. In a video posted to Twitter, Mr Tugendhat said: “That is the end of the road for me in this race, but it has been an amazing run, I’m incredibly proud of the team, I’m incredibly grateful to all the supporters who have been with me at some – if not all – stages of the race we fought for a clean start because we know that that’s what the country is crying out for.

Rishi Sunak has built his lead in the Tory leadership race in the third round of voting, with Tom Tugendhat dropping out. Sunak got 115 votes, followed by.

This is still open and I believe Liz is in the right place to do this.” Truss and Badenoch are also in a close fought battle to see who will make the final three and become the standard-bearer of the Tory party’s right faction. Truss is in second place with bookmakers to become next Prime Minister, but she is vying with Badenoch for the votes of the right of the party and still trails Mordaunt.

RISHI SUNAK has 'done enough' to win the Tory leadership contest, a political expert has told Express.co.uk, praising his 'tidy haircut' and laying bare his ...

“That is the point. She added: “She has got a clear conservative vision for the future of the country, including a strong economic plan. “The thing they are suffering most on is that they look like they are less likely to govern confidently than Labour and that is a disaster for the Conservatives.” “And I certainly hope that the Conservative Party membership would have the opportunity to choose between the two of those.” He said: “In many ways he is the opposite of Boris Johnson. He is sober, sensible and has tidy haircuts.” Reacting to the results, he told Express.co.uk: “Rishi Sunak seems to have done enough among Tory MPs but what remains to be seen is whether he has done enough among the membership.

In the third ballot of the Tory leadership contest on Monday evening, Mr Sunak got 115 votes, Ms Mordaunt 82, Liz Truss 71, Kemi Badenoch 58 and Tom Tugendhat ...

“She is one of the most hard-working ministers and constituency MPs I know. He said: “It will come as no surprise that some have suggested I could leave with a job as well. “A vigorous exchange of ideas, in what is a challenging time for the country, should be expected when you are talking about such important issues and the leadership of a G7 nation. But my view is clear. “Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the Conservative Party, exposing disagreements and splits within the party,” a Sky statement said. In a sign of the concern about the way the leadership race is being conducted, Mr Sunak and Ms Truss confirmed they did not want to take part in a Sky News debate planned for Tuesday – prompting the broadcaster to cancel the show.

Tom Tugendhat's elimination leaves No 2 in race the only hopeful who is vaguely liberal and not tinged by Johnson's government.

The next two days are likely to be filled with intrigue, scurrilous briefing, complaints of unfairness and a host of contradictory predictions. But the identity of the person he will face remains deeply uncertain, with just two more rounds of MPs’ votes to go, on Tuesday and Wednesday. She is only 13 votes behind Truss, but Tory amateur game theorists will realise that switching your vote from Tugendhat to Badenoch would be quite a leap, both in terms of policy and style.

Rishi Sunak's place on the members' ballot looks all but guaranteed - but not much else is certain as MPs vote again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

- The fourth round of voting by Tory MPs will happen in the afternoon of Tuesday 19 July The two final candidates will then be put to the party’s membership in a month-long battle for the keys of Downing Street – embarking on a tour of the country as they take part in regional hustings – before a winner is announced on 5 September. The fourth round of voting by the party’s 358 MPs will take place on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the ejection of Tom Tugenhadt narrowed the field from five to four.

Get our free Inside Politics email ... Tory MPs will vote again on Tuesday in the Conservative leadership bid, as the race for second place intensifies after Tom ...

If the government had been defeated it would have almost certainly triggered a general election. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. So you get a severe danger of tracks buckling, what we can’t have is trains running over those and a terrible derailing. Contenders for the Conservative leadership are engaged in frenzied horse-trading for a handful of MPs’ votes which will decide who will go into the final battle to succeed Boris Johnson and become prime minister. But a Tory rebellion appeared unlikely, given the party remains leaderless and in no fit state to go to the polls, reports Adam Forrest: Mr Zahawi, in a speech to the City, will say the country should be “confident” the government can get a handle on inflation as the cost-of-living pressure on households continues to bite. In a sign of concern about the way the leadership race is being conducted, Conservative Party leadership frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss confirmed they did not want to take part in a Sky News debate planned for Tuesday – prompting the broadcaster to cancel the show. The outgoing prime minister is set to praise the resilience of schools and the NHS in the face of extreme heat in what is expected to be his final scheduled cabinet. Speaking ahead of cabinet, the prime minister is expected to say: “We were the first country in the world to administer approved vaccines. And the report found that the poorest areas of the country have been hit hardest as spending on early intervention services was halved by councils in England from £3.8bn to £1.9bn between 2010-11 and 2020-21. “There is a war going on in Europe. Why on earth would he not go and meet with the RAF” “We’ve got to be very cautious and conscious of that, which is why there’s reduced speeds on large parts of the network.”

As the Conservative leadership contest continues, the outgoing prime minister will chair his final scheduled cabinet meeting. Boris Johnson is expected to ...

The final two candidates will carry out hustings over the summer before a vote by the wider party membership, and the final result is expected to be announced on 5 September. Mr Johnson is expected to discuss the heatwave with his ministers - after he faced criticism for missing three emergency COBRA meetings on the matter in recent days - as well as marking the anniversary of England coming out of COVID measures. The last four runners in the Conservative leadership contest will face another round of voting later, as the party decides who will replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street.

Four candidates remain in the streamlined Tory leadership contest, with the final two contenders to be decided before Parliament goes on recess.

Just an hour after the votes are announced, the remaining three candidates will take part in a hustings organised by the think tank Onward and the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs. The ex-Chancellor now only needs a handful of votes to be sure of his place in the next stage of the contest There are now just four contenders remaining in the race after a ballot on Monday which followed a feisty second TV debate at the weekend, with the hopefuls trading blows on a variety of subjects.

LIZ TRUSS is fighting to keep her Tory leadership campaign alive today, with fears she could be kicked out of the contest.

The candidate with the least support will be knocked out and the others through to the second to last stage of the contest. But she has won over admirers in the party for her tough stance on woke, and her desire to unite the party on Brexit. Conservative MPs will vote to reduce the number of candidates in the running to become Prime Minister from four to three later today. "She wants to deliver change and is the only candidate in the race capable of delivering it." Her campaign has claimed she is the insurgent candidate and the best chance the right-wing of the party has of stopping Mr Sunak from taking charge. The Foreign Secretary has launched seven pledges on defence and security this morning as she looks to present herself as strong on threats abroad in a bid to win over supporters of Tom Tugendhat.

Kemi Badenoch at greatest risk of dropping out as latest round of voting will reduce candidates to final three.

Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt are now the two strongest candidates in the contest to be the second person on the final ballot. It is not inevitable - she has defied expectations already - but she remains 13 votes behind Truss, and may struggle to get much of the Tugendhat vote. He is now on 115 votes and once a candidate gets 120 (just over a third of the total), it is mathematically impossible for two other candidates to get more votes. But later in the day she had an apparent change of heart and told Talk TV that her commitment to the 2050 date was not absolute. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, is now all but certain to be one of the two candidates on the final ballot for Conservative party members. Badenoch, the former equalities minister, is the only candidate still in the race who has not served in cabinet. As Steven Swinford reports, the decision means Ellwood will not be able to vote in parliamentary leadership ballot until the whip is restored. Ellwood, who was one of the Tories most critical of Boris Johnson, did not have permission to be away. We live in an increasingly dangerous world where the threat level is higher than a decade ago, and we need a stronger deterrent to face down those threats and ensure Britain leads on the global stage. Who can doubt that we were right to be the first major economy to go for net zero? Boris Johnson has a majority of 111 in the vote last night. But the whip is likely to be restored by the next Tory leader well before any election takes place.

The next round of voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest takes place on Tuesday, with the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister ...

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Another vote in the Tory leadership contest has begun as the remaining candidates battle to make the final two and become the next prime minister.

But we can also do more with fewer people.” Mr Rees-Mogg said: “What is going on is that too many people are still working from home. A ballot will be repeated on Wednesday, leaving only two candidates. The lowest placed candidate will be eliminated leaving just three candidates left in the race. We won’t have long to wait. A result is expected at 3pm.

Four candidates remain in the race to become the next Tory leader. Tom Tugendhat was eliminated in the latest round of voting by Conservative MPs yesterday ...

“Whilst the pace of change has surpassed expectations, Labour has still changed far less than it needs to in order to be confident of winning a general election,” he writes. Those reports alone have caused a bit of consternation as they would seem to go against the inquiry’s terms of reference – specifically that “the report shall be presented to the [NEC] before being made public, and the panel will provide the report in a form suitable for publication, in accordance with applicable law”. Tom Tugendhat was eliminated in the latest round of voting by Conservative MPs yesterday evening, having come in last place with 31 votes.

Many expected to back Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt in bid to block Foreign Secretary from making the final two.

Other MPs who supported Mr Tugendhat's campaign are undecided on next steps. At the moment we really haven't made any decisions. But it is already clear not all will follow those suggestions. For today, I think a lot of people will vote for Penny.” Mr Tugendhat got the backing from figures in the One Nation group of Tory MPs, which is on the liberal wing of the party. Mr Tugendhat, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, was knocked out of the contest on Monday. The race is now on to secure the backing of the 31 Tory MPs who voted for him.

Penny Mordaunt is expected to pick up votes on Tuesday but all eyes will be on where Kemi Badenoch's support goes in the final ballot.

Supporters within the Truss camp, notably Steve Baker, have claimed that Ms Badenoch has been running a stalking-horse campaign for Mr Sunak, with her votes eventually expected to fall in behind the former chancellor when it comes to the final ballot. Speculation continues to mount as to whether Team Sunak will seek to lend the Mordaunt campaign its votes in a bid to keep Ms Truss off the final two. Many are predicting that Ms Badenoch will fall at the latest hurdle, with a healthy portion of her 58 supporters going to Ms Truss. This would power the Foreign Secretary’s campaign through to the head to head with Mr Sunak on Wednesday.

Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, and Kemi Badenoch could all defeat ex-chancellor.

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Sunak, former chancellor, came top again in the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs at Westminster with 118, followed by Mordaunt with 92 and Truss with 86.

Both candidates will also get the chance to explain their views in a later interview with Nick Robinson.

The show will also be simulcast on BBC Radio 5 Live with coverage continuing after the debate and across the BBC News website and the BBC News Channel. The BBC debate will be a key moment in a summer of campaigning by the two final contenders, with the result of the vote announced on 5 September. The BBC is to host a live TV debate with the final two candidates of the Conservative Party leadership race.

Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt are now almost neck-and-neck in a ferocious battle to join Rishi Sunak on the final ballot of two-candidates - which will be ...

Rishi Sunak supporter Chris Skidmore told Sky News: “I wouldn’t put it past some of the other teams to be doing a bit of horse-trading. The dividing line in this race is not tax cuts, it's judgment." She said “the right has lost its confidence and its courage”, the government has "caved in" to social justice campaigners. That leaves Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt - just six votes apart - to battle it out to make the final ballot of two-candidates, which will be announced at 4pm tomorrow. Rishi Sunak is still in the lead among MPs with 118 votes - two off the 120 threshold he needs to be guaranteed a spot on the ballot. Kemi Badenoch was today booted out of the Tory leadership contest - leaving a ferocious three-way battle to get on the final ballot.