Kemi Badenoch is emerging as the top choice among Conservative Party members to succeed Rishi Sunak, according to the first decisive grassroots poll of the race. The Timeshas the details:
The YouGov survey finds that the Shadow Housing and Communities Secretary is backed by 24% of party activists — eight points ahead of her nearest rival, Tom Tugendhat.
James Cleverly, the former Home Secretary, is third with 14%, and Robert Jenrick is fourth with 12%.
Priti Patel, who is competing for votes from the right of the party, is fifth at 11%, while Mel Stride, the former Work and Pensions Secretary, gets only 2%.
YouGov, which questioned a panel of 910 Tory members, also found that Badenoch would beat all of her rivals in a head-to-head contest. She would defeat Tugendhat by 49% to 31% and Jenrick by 48% to 33%.
Under the leadership rules, the field of six candidates will be whittled down to four in time for the party’s conference at the end of September. There will then be a hustings in front of members and MPs at the conference, after which MPs will narrow the field to the final two candidates.
They will go forward to a vote of all party members and the final victor will be announced in November. So far, candidates have been concentrating on getting the backing of as many MPs as possible in a bid to make it through to the final two.
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