However, the race remained open on Tuesday after the party’s members of parliament dropped former equalities minister Kemi Bandenos, leaving Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Penny Mordaud, the trade secretary, as the remaining candidates. Badenoch exited the race with 59 votes, while Rishi Sunak added three votes to Monday’s tally, securing the fourth ballot with 118. Mordaunt reached 92, while Truss saw an increase of 15 votes for a total of 86 votes. Lawmakers will eliminate one more candidate before the ruling party’s 200,000 members choose their new leader, who will become prime minister. Unlike in 2019, when Johnson was the clear favorite in the contest, the outcome is harder to predict, with polls of party members suggesting Sunak would lose to whoever is chosen to face him. Since Johnson said he would step down earlier this month after his scandal-ridden government lost the support of many Conservatives, the race to replace him has grown increasingly ugly with candidates trading barbs and challenging records. Kemi Badenoch won fans for what some described as her critique of “woke” ideas. [Jonathan Hordle/ITV/EPA-EFE] Mordaunt just held on to second place and thanked colleagues for their support. “We are so close to the finish line. I’m raring to go and I’m excited to make my case to members across the country and win,” she said in a statement. A Truss spokesman said it was “time for the party to unite behind a candidate who will govern in a conservative way and who has shown she can deliver time and time again”. Sunak, Truss and Mordaunt have presented policy proposals to boost their campaigns, seeking to shift the focus away from promises of tax cuts at a time when Britain’s economy has left people with the most financial strain here and there. decades. Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister helped bring down Johnson, said he would impose tougher sentences for criminals who do not appear in court and crack down on gangs that groom girls and young women for sex. “It will be my top priority in government to keep the British public safe – and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen,” he said in a statement. All three will want to appeal to supporters of Badenoch, a relative unknown who has won fans for what some have described as her criticism of so-called “woke” ideas. They will also be willing to shore up their right-wing credentials to appeal to a party which, according to a 2020 survey by Queen Mary University of London and the Sussex University Party Members Project, tends to be older, male, southern English speakers and Brexit supporters. Members will vote in a postal ballot with the result due on September 5. A YouGov poll suggested Sunak would lose the second round against everyone else, and Truss moved in as favorite in the betting markets. Truss, which has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, reiterated its commitment to increase defense spending to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2030. “We live in an increasingly dangerous world where the threat level is higher than a decade ago and we need a stronger deterrent to deal with these threats and ensure Britain leads on the world stage,” he said. “My number one priority is to keep this country safe, and people can trust me to do that.” Mordaunt also committed to Johnson’s so-called leveling – or tackling regional disparities – in Britain. “My economic plan will stimulate competition and growth up and down the country, creating the jobs of the future and enabling the country to live well,” she said in a statement.
