Kemi Badenoch eliminated as Rishi Sunak tops poll of MPs

Kemi Badenoch has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership race, leaving the final three hopefuls to battle it out ahead of the final MP ballot.

Rishi Sunak, who retained his lead over his fellow candidates, will be joined by Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss in vying for a place in the final two to face the vote put to party members.

Mr Sunak was backed in today’s vote by 118 MPs, while Ms Mordaunt beat Ms Truss to second place with 92 votes to 86.

The foreign secretary, however, hoovered up more transfered votes from Tom Tugendhat than Ms Mordaunt, gaining 15 votes to her opponent’s 10.

It comes after a members’ poll found that the former chancellor and current MP favourite could be beaten by all three of his rivals in the final vote of the leadership contest members.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has stripped the Tory party whip from senior MP Tobias Ellwood for his “failure to support” the government in Monday’s confidence vote.

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