Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch will battle it out to become the next Tory leader after frontrunner James Cleverly was sensationally knocked out of the election by MPs. Former home secretary Mr Cleverly took a surprise lead in a vote yesterday, but slumped to third in a fourth and final round of Westminster voting this afternoon. He had been expected to pick up most of the moderate votes of supporters of Tom Tugendhat, who was knocked out yesterday.But he actually lost votes, which will fuel suspicions that his backers loaned too many votes to Mr Jenrick in order to keep Ms Badenoch out the final two today. One veteran Tory aide said: ‘Some must have left James to try and stop the right winger they liked least… the Cleverly whips have lost control of the numbers.’ Ms Badenoch won 42 votes and Mr Jenrick 41 votes, to Mr Cleverly’s 37 votes in the latest ballot, with 120 Tory MPs having taken part. The shock will see Mr Jenrick, the former immigration minister go up against Ms Badenoch, the ex-business secretary, who is seen as the favourite of the grassroots, in a ballot of party member. The result will be announced on November 2.It means that the next leader will be from the right of the party, which both candidates taking a hard line on issues including immigration and woke culture.Mr Cleverly said: I’m grateful for the support I’ve received on this campaign from colleagues, party members and the public. Sadly it wasn’t to be. ‘We are all Conservatives, and it’s important the Conservative Party unites to take on this catastrophic Labour government.’ Former home secretary Mr Cleverly took a surprise lead in a vote yesterday, but slumped to third in a fourth and final round of Westminster voting this afternoon. He had been expected to pick up most of the moderate votes of supporters of Tom Tugendhat, who was knocked out yesterday. The shock will see Mr Jenrick, the former immigration minister go up against Ms Badenoch, the ex-business secretary, who is seen as the favourite of the grassroots, in a ballot of party member. Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly are competing to be in the final two for the Tory leadership today
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Mr Cleverly at Boris Johnson’s book launch in London last night A jubilant Mark Francois told Sky News that Mr Jenrick was the ‘comeback kid of British politics’. ‘The MPs, we’ve discharged our duty… we’ve given two strong candidates for the members to choose from,’ he said.The former minister insisted he did not think there had been any ‘vote lending’ but said: ‘When you’ve only got 121 people with a vote it’s genuinely not a good idea to get too clever for your own good… you vote for the person you want to win.’Asked what had happened, one despairing MP who backed Mr Cleverly said: ‘God knows.’ They added: ‘Tory MPs are too inward looking.’ Badenoch and Jenrick had been engaged in a desperate battle to keep their Tory leader hopes alive today as MPs prepare to choose a final two.The shadow housing secretary and ex-immigration minister were scrambling for support from colleagues after a shock surge from James Cleverly saw him installed as favourite.Rival camps swiped that MPs had stopped ‘buying the bullsh**’ from Mr Jenrick after he slipped back in the latest ballot yesterday – dropping two votes to end up on 31, just one ahead of Ms Badenoch who was up two. Mr Cleverly enjoyed a breathtaking advance after being seen as the best performer at Tory conference in Birmingham last week, going from 21 supporters to 39. With only 121 Conservative MPs after Rishi Sunak’s disastrous election result, that is just one short of the figure that guarantees his spot in the run-off.The shadow home secretary was also widely expected to pick up the bulk of the 20 backers assembled by Tom Tugendhat, who was eliminated last night after coming fourth.Surveys by the grass roots ConservativeHome website have suggested that Mr Cleverly would defeat Mr Jenrick but could struggle against Ms Badenoch.Mr Cleverly – who last night attended the launch of Boris Johnson’s book Unleashed in London with his wife Susannah – paid tribute to his ‘close friend’ Mr Tugendhat, saying that he would ‘have a big role to play in our ­party’s future’.But allies rejected claims he could now lend support to him to avoid a showdown with Mrs Badenoch.One said: ‘We’re clear – MPs need to vote for the candidate they want to win, and we think that should be James. That’s what we’re saying to MPs. Absolutely no games.’  One source from a rival camp told MailOnline that MPs had ‘stopped buying the bullsh**’ from Mr Jenrick. Iain Duncan Smith is the latest Tory MP to back Kemi Badenoch in the leadership contest today’Now that’s become obvious people are ditching him. He had careerist supporters who now know he can’t win,’ they said.A veteran Tory aide said: ‘Those Bobby J baseball caps have blown him up, just like David Davis with the DD for Me shirts.’ Ms Badenoch’s supporters said falling support for Mr Jenrick among MPs showed he could not win. A campaign spokesman said: ‘There are three candidates left in this contest, two are gaining votes and one is going backwards.’The Right of the party needs to coalesce around Kemi, who has the star quality to cut through in opposition and is indisputably the members’ choice for leader.’Despite the loss of momentum, Mr Jenrick’s campaign insisted he was in ‘prime position’ to make the final two.The former immigration minister has adopted a hardline stance on immigration, with a pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights – a move opposed by some Tory moderates. But a campaign spokesman said he was attracting support from other moderates such as former health secretary Victoria Atkins and MPs on the Right. Tom Tugendhat was the latest to be eliminated in yesterday’s Tory leader ballotOne of Mr Jenrick’s MP ­supporters took a swipe at Mrs Badenoch, saying: ‘MPs have a choice between a serious and competent leader or, on a weekly basis, having to defend attacks on Doctor Who, and madcap ideas like lowering maternity pay, the end of free care with the NHS and how the minimum wage is too high.’In a boost for Mr Jenrick, ­Theresa May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy last night came out in his support.Having backed Mr Tugendhat until he was knocked out yesterday, Mr Timothy said the only remaining candidate offering ‘unsparing analysis of why we lost and what we must do next’ was Mr Jenrick.Tory party members will vote on the final two candidates with the result due to be announced on November 2.