The Tory Chances for leadership fluctuate rapidly as MPs cast their votes for their favorite contenders, in an effort to narrow those vying for the prime minister’s role to a final two. However, the first televised debate between the candidates on Friday night could very well have reformed the race – and there are two more to go this weekend.
After the second round of voting on Thursday, only five candidates remain.
The lead with the most votes in parliament is Rishi Sunak with 101, Penny Mordaunt comes in second with 83, then Liz Truss with 64, Kemi Badenoch got 49 and Tom Tugendhat came in with 32 – just enough to qualify for the next round.
Aiming to make a final two by the end of next week, the contest will feature a series of televised debates and hustings between the contenders to win over their peers and gain more votes in the rounds to come.
Once the final two have been decided, approximately 160,000 Tory party members will vote for a winner in a postal ballot – and these are the people the contenders are playing against, not the general public.
However, the first lap performance saw a mix of fields, some of which could have ultimately changed the expected outcome of the race.
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Rishi Sunak – 9/4
former chancellor Rishi Sunakwho made the decision to resign from his role in an uprising against incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson – despite also being fined for the partygate scandal – performed well overall.
Mr. Sunak showed a calm and collected disposition, showed little nerve and answered questions with seniority and pragmatism.
But bringing his treasury experience into the debate — what could have been seen as a potential asset — may well be the trump card that knocks him off the lead.
Mr Sunak, who has remained stubborn in his stance not to cut taxes and spending, as well as attacks on wishful thinking and easy promises to cut said taxes, may not have gone down well with fellow MPs.
Mr Sunak said: “The best way for people to have money in their pockets is to get a handle on inflation.
Sunak told Liz Truss: “We have to be honest. Borrowing your way out of inflation isn’t a plan, it’s a fairy tale.”
Mr Sunak didn’t get away unscathed though, as when he claimed his principled decision to raise the National Insurance Tax to protect the NHS, rival Tom Tugendhat replied that Mr Sunak told him he was doing it “because the boss wants it” .
Although, despite a few hits, Opinium polling of the 1,159 people who watched Friday’s match put Sunak in second place with 25 percent of the vote.
Penny Mordaunt – 13/12
Getting enough votes in both rounds of the race to place her second, Mrs Mordaunt is a strong contender to start work in September.
Ms. Mordaunt’s performance, however, did not seem to live up to high expectations.
Martin Kettle of The Guardian aptly described it as the moment when her candidacy “fell into the water”.
Ms. Mordaunt made some memorable points, she failed to justify her billing and her track record on trans issues remains a challenge.
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The Tories have identified the issue of trans rights as a wedge to use against Labour, but Ms Mordaunt’s changing views over the years may make it difficult for her to do so.
She said, “I can’t imagine why people don’t understand what I’m saying and have been spitting this issue out for weeks and weeks,”
She continued: “I am a woman, I am a biological woman in every cell of my body”, before adding that “a man who had passed on was not the same as me”.
Despite not doing as well in the debate as her counterpart, Ms. Mordaunt’s performance didn’t seem to have pushed her off the board to become the bookie’s favourite. Although, she only got 12 percent of the vote from Opinium.
Liz Truss – 27/5
Third in the race and third on the bookmaker’s odds board, that of Mrs Truss the performance seemed to have gone the most wrong of all the contenders.
Only six percent of Opinium voters thought she performed the best. Critics have said her delivery came across as much more scripted and inconsistent.
A breakdown of the votes showed that the Foreign Secretary had effectively finished last in the debate in the eyes of Conservative voters, Labor voters and swing voters.
Kemi Badenoch – 28/1
Despite fourth in the race – and fourth on the odds board, Kemi Badenoch ranked higher than Liz Truss in the Opinium poll, with 12 percent of voters saying she performed the best.
With a relatively low public profile, Ms. Badenoch spoke more freely and authentically, and her views on climate change left a memorable impression on viewers.
Ms Badenoch ignored the warning from the international environment minister, Lord Goldsmith, that dropping the net zero target for 2050 would be “political suicide”, saying: “I think he is wrong.
“The promise was made in 2018 for 2050. None of us will be here as politicians in 2050. It’s very easy to set a goal for which you are not responsible and accountable when the time comes.”
Ms Badenoch pledged to cut some green taxes to tackle the energy crisis and said: “We need to tackle climate change, but I think the crisis we are dealing with now comes first and we make people’s lives easier. have to make. ”
Tom Tugendhat – 40/1
Surprisingly, the candidate who has consistently finished last in the race so far was actually voted the best overall, with 36 percent of the vote from Opinium – ranked HIGHER than Mr Sunak.
Like Mrs Badenoch, Mr Tugendhat spoke honestly and off-the-cuff. He was the only contender to answer “no” without hesitation to the question “Is Boris Johnson fair?” which received a warm round of applause from the crowd.
Promising his campaign slogan of a “clean start”, Tugendhat called for “a break from those Johnson years” before adding: “I have held up a mirror to many of our actions and to those in our party, who are in us leadership solicited positions, to ask themselves ‘is that what the public really expects?’”
“Do you serve the people of the UK or do you serve your career? Because that’s the real question tonight. That is the real question for all of us.”
But only time will tell if this will be enough to get more votes from MPs in the coming rounds.
The latest odds have been retrieved from Oddschecker.