And then there were five. Suella Braverman has been knocked out of the Tory leadership contest after only receiving 27 votes in the second round ballot. She has now backed Truss. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat remain in the contest. Sunak came top in the second round ballot with 101 votes, an increase of 13 since the first round. Penny Mordaunt is closing in on 83, followed by Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch. Tom Tugendhat only managed to achieve 32 votes in this round. The next vote takes place on Monday evening, when another candidate will be removed from the contest.
8.32pm Braverman backs Truss
James Forsyth writes… Suella Braverman is now backing Liz Truss, as is her campaign wing man Steve Baker. Given the discipline of the ERG whipping operation, this should mean that the bulk of Braverman’s 27 supporters move to Truss. Read James’s full blog here.
5.07pm Podcast: Can Penny Mordaunt hack the top job?
Cindy Yu writes… The Tory briefing war continues to get underway, with David Frost launching a vicious broadside at Penny Mordaunt on talkRadio this morning.
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