James Cleverly became favourite to take over as Conservative Party leader on Tuesday after topping the latest round of voting by Tory MPs. Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat was knocked out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak after being backed by just 20 Conservative MPs.

Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly surged to first from third in the latest round of voting for the UK Conservative leadership contest as the party’s Members of Parliament eliminated former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.

James Cleverly leapfrogged his rivals in a shock twist after winning over members at Tory conference last week, where he used his speech to urge the party to 'be more normal'

It has been a tough few years for our party. On July 4 it got even harder. The election result was the worst in our party’s history; we cannot simply ignore the message that the public sent us. We can’t hope to get back into government by waiting for the Labour Party to mess up.

Surge in leadership contest backing for former home secretary comes as defeated party eyes route back to power.

One of the remaining four Tory leadership hopefuls will be knocked out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak on Tuesday as Conservative MPs vote to narrow the field to three. The parliamentary party will hold hustings in the morning, followed by a vote in the afternoon. Another vote will take place on Wednesday.

James Cleverly's message of lower taxes and economic growth resonates with hardworking people, argues PCC Alison Hernandez.

Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly surged to first from third in the latest round of voting for the UK Conservative leadership contest as the party’s Members of Parliament eliminated former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.

Tom Tugendhat knocked out of Tory leadership contest as James Cleverly sees huge boost to campaign - The former security minister failed to win over enough MPs to make it to the final three, with a fu