London, Oct 9 (PTI) Former Conservative Party Cabinet ministers Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick on Wednesday emerged as the finalists in the Tory leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak as party chief and the UK Opposition Leader.
In the last round of voting by Tory members of Parliament to whittle down the candidates to the final two, former home and foreign secretary James Cleverly was the surprising loser after topping the previous round of votes on Tuesday.
As he was knocked out with just 37 votes, Badenoch emerged as the frontrunner among her MP colleagues with 42 votes and Jenrick close behind on 41.
“The final two candidates will now be put to the membership to decide our next Leader,” said Bob Blackman, veteran Tory MP and chair of the 1922 Committee which coordinates the party’s leadership elections.
Both finalists in the race lean towards the right of the Conservative Party, with cutting immigration into the UK and restricting visas for Indians playing out during some of their heated clashes.
While former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has previously singled out India as one of the countries that should be subjected to tough visa restrictions across all categories unless it takes back its nationals who enter Britain illegally, Nigerian-heritage shadow housing secretary Badenoch had condemned new migrants bringing their disputes from India to cause unrest on the streets of Britain.
On Tuesday, former minister Tom Tugendhat, considered more of a centrist Tory like Cleverly, was knocked out of the race after attracting the least votes from among 121 elected party MPs.
The new Conservative Party chief and Opposition Leader is scheduled to be declared on November 2 after a three-week online and postal voting process by the wider membership.
The election follows the resignation of Sunak as Tory leader in the wake of the party’s bruising general election defeat in July under his leadership.
The British Indian politician, who was re-elected MP from Richmond and Northallerton in northern England, has meanwhile been serving as interim leader and called for party unity.
“Whoever wins this contest, give them your backing. We must end the division, the backbiting, the squabbling. We mustn’t nurse old grudges but build new friendships. We must always remember what unites us, rather than obsessing about where we might differ, because when we turn in on ourselves, we lose and the country ends up with a Labour government,” he said in his farewell speech at the party conference in Birmingham at the end of last month.