Rishi Sunak has come out on top but did not get enough votes to establish a commanding position
. They are both set to get senior jobs in the new Government, whoever is elected, but they would need a remarkable run of good luck to have any serious chance of reaching No 10 themselves.
For as long as those two stay in the contest, the near-inevitable showdown between Mr Sunak, Ms Mordaunt and Ms Truss to reach the final two will be delayed. It is Ms Mordaunt who has all the momentum right now – but the former Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary have much clearer pitches, and are far better-known to the public, so do not bet against them squeezing her out over the coming days.
Mr Zahawi lost his bid for the leadership when Ms Mordaunt effectively stole his pitch to be the unity candidate – but his endorsement will be highly valued. Mr Tugendhat has already made a very public pitch for it, tweeting: “You’re a great man, you’ve been a great candidate and you’re a great friend. Frontline politics needs you.”
For Mr Hunt, winning only 18 votes – including his own – is a true humiliation. He has acknowledged that is was a mistake to think he could win on the basis of his second-place finish from three years ago, an error previously made by Andrea Leadsom in 2019. But less than a week ago, the conventional wisdom in Westminster was still that he stood an outside chance of victory – and a month ago he was regarded as one of the favourites.
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