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| Conservative leader rivals battle to secure MPs' votes | Conservative leader rivals battle to secure MPs' votes |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Tory leadership hopefuls are battling to secure the support of their colleagues, ahead of the first MPs' vote in the contest for No 10 later. | Tory leadership hopefuls are battling to secure the support of their colleagues, ahead of the first MPs' vote in the contest for No 10 later. |
| The eight candidates who have made it onto the ballot paper will have to secure at least 30 votes to stay in the race to become prime minister. | The eight candidates who have made it onto the ballot paper will have to secure at least 30 votes to stay in the race to become prime minister. |
| It is the first of a series of secret ballots over the next few days to whittle the field down to a final two. | It is the first of a series of secret ballots over the next few days to whittle the field down to a final two. |
| Voting will start at 13:30, with a result expected at 17:00 BST. | Voting will start at 13:30, with a result expected at 17:00 BST. |
| Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi have all secured the required 20 nominations from Tory MPs to make it onto the ballot later. | Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi have all secured the required 20 nominations from Tory MPs to make it onto the ballot later. |
| Ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid and junior minister Rehman Chishti dropped out, after failing to pick up enough support. | Ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid and junior minister Rehman Chishti dropped out, after failing to pick up enough support. |
| The 30 vote threshold - which has been introduced to quickly narrow the field - could see a number of further candidates knocked out. | The 30 vote threshold - which has been introduced to quickly narrow the field - could see a number of further candidates knocked out. |
| Who could be the next prime minister? | Who could be the next prime minister? |
| When will we know who the new PM is? | When will we know who the new PM is? |
| What taxes would Tory leadership rivals cut? | What taxes would Tory leadership rivals cut? |
| Firms urge PM hopefuls to focus on growth and tax | Firms urge PM hopefuls to focus on growth and tax |
| As campaigning continues, Trade Minister Ms Mordaunt - who currently has the second highest number of Tory MPs backing her - will formally launch her campaign on Wednesday morning. | As campaigning continues, Trade Minister Ms Mordaunt - who currently has the second highest number of Tory MPs backing her - will formally launch her campaign on Wednesday morning. |
| Candidates will also appear at two further hustings events, as the race to secure endorsements heats up. | Candidates will also appear at two further hustings events, as the race to secure endorsements heats up. |
| It comes as: | It comes as: |
| Former chancellor Mr Sunak, who has the strongest backing among Tory MPs so far, secured support from cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps | Former chancellor Mr Sunak, who has the strongest backing among Tory MPs so far, secured support from cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Grant Shapps |
| Foreign Secretary Ms Truss bagged endorsements from cabinet ministers and Johnson loyalists Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries | Foreign Secretary Ms Truss bagged endorsements from cabinet ministers and Johnson loyalists Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries |
| Mr Hunt's campaign rejected an accusation from Ms Dorries that Mr Sunak's team lent nominations, to make sure he got onto the ballot paper | Mr Hunt's campaign rejected an accusation from Ms Dorries that Mr Sunak's team lent nominations, to make sure he got onto the ballot paper |
| Former foreign secretary Mr Hunt, who has not had a launch event, said he was "quietly confident" he would make it through the first round of voting | Former foreign secretary Mr Hunt, who has not had a launch event, said he was "quietly confident" he would make it through the first round of voting |
| The campaign so far has laid bare Tory divisions over taxation, with a number of candidates attacking the rise in taxes under Mr Sunak's chancellorship. | The campaign so far has laid bare Tory divisions over taxation, with a number of candidates attacking the rise in taxes under Mr Sunak's chancellorship. |
| All the contenders are pledging to bring in immediate tax cuts if they win, apart from Mr Sunak who says cuts should wait until inflation goes down. | |
| Among those promising to reduce taxes, there are divisions over which taxes should be cut, and how quickly. | Among those promising to reduce taxes, there are divisions over which taxes should be cut, and how quickly. |
| In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Sunak said tackling inflation is his "number one economic priority", and claimed former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, an icon on the right of the party, would have backed his approach. | In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Sunak said tackling inflation is his "number one economic priority", and claimed former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, an icon on the right of the party, would have backed his approach. |
| But on of Ms Truss's backers, Mr Rees-Mogg attacked his record at the Treasury, telling Sky News the "tax-increasing chancellor" had made decisions "of the left rather than on the right". | |
| And he sought to disparage Leave-voting Mr Sunak's Brexit credentials, branding him an "ostensible Brexiteer" whose department had resisted ending the "supremacy of EU law" during his tenure. | |
| Scramble for votes heats up | Scramble for votes heats up |
| The competition for votes is feverish. | The competition for votes is feverish. |
| One MP, who had supported former candidate Mr Shapps, showed me their phone - and the instant electronic attention they were paid by loads of other candidates and their teams. | One MP, who had supported former candidate Mr Shapps, showed me their phone - and the instant electronic attention they were paid by loads of other candidates and their teams. |
| Missed calls, WhatsApps, you name it, instantaneous wooing. And it's only just beginning. | Missed calls, WhatsApps, you name it, instantaneous wooing. And it's only just beginning. |
| Plenty ponder that the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Penny Mordaunt are perhaps the most likely to make the final three. | Plenty ponder that the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Penny Mordaunt are perhaps the most likely to make the final three. |
| But no-one can know yet. | But no-one can know yet. |
| Read more from Chris | Read more from Chris |
| At midday, before voting starts, Boris Johnson will take part in his first Prime Minister's Questions since the cabinet mutiny last week that forced his resignation and triggered the contest to replace him in No 10. | At midday, before voting starts, Boris Johnson will take part in his first Prime Minister's Questions since the cabinet mutiny last week that forced his resignation and triggered the contest to replace him in No 10. |
| He has declined to endorse any of the candidates vying to succeed him, saying he "wouldn't want to damage anyone's chances". | He has declined to endorse any of the candidates vying to succeed him, saying he "wouldn't want to damage anyone's chances". |
| Meanwhile, Labour has said the candidates' pledging tax cuts would create a £24bn budget deficit and see public sector debt reach 84% of GDP by 2026-27. | Meanwhile, Labour has said the candidates' pledging tax cuts would create a £24bn budget deficit and see public sector debt reach 84% of GDP by 2026-27. |
| It also accused them of abandoning the government's own fiscal charter, which commits it both to balancing the current budget and having public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP falling in three years' time. | It also accused them of abandoning the government's own fiscal charter, which commits it both to balancing the current budget and having public sector net debt as a percentage of GDP falling in three years' time. |
| In a speech later, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will pledge that a Labour government would only borrow to invest and will also commit it to cutting the UK's public debt. | In a speech later, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will pledge that a Labour government would only borrow to invest and will also commit it to cutting the UK's public debt. |
| Tory MPs are aiming to whittle down the candidates to a final two before Parliament's summer break begins at the end of next week. | Tory MPs are aiming to whittle down the candidates to a final two before Parliament's summer break begins at the end of next week. |
| About 160,000 members of the Conservative Party will then choose between these final two, with the winner due to be announced on 5 September. | About 160,000 members of the Conservative Party will then choose between these final two, with the winner due to be announced on 5 September. |