Conservative MPs who backed Tom Tugendhat are trying to prevent Liz Truss from making the final two candidates in the leadership race, The Telegraph can reveal.
Some supporters of Mr Tugendhat are preparing to cast their votes for Penny Mordaunt, the trade minister, and are urging others to do the same, even if they ultimately want Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, to become the next prime minister.
The drive is an attempt to ensure Ms Truss, the foreign secretary who has become the candidate for the right-wing Tory and Brexiteers, does not make it to the bottom two.
The Tories vote on Tuesday to whittle the remaining four candidates down to three, then again on Wednesday to decide the final two.
The pair of politicians then face a summer of campaigning before Tory MPs elect their leader, with the result announced on September 5.
Mr. Tugendhat, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, was removed from the race on Monday. Now the race is on to secure the support of the 31 Tory MPs who voted for him.
“Everybody But Liz’s Camp”
One of those 31 MPs told The Telegraph of the group: “A lot of them are in the ‘everyone but Liz’ camp.”
“Liz strangely allowed herself to become the successor candidate Boris plus ERG, which is a strange place for Liz. For today, I think a lot of people will vote for Penny.”
ERG stands for the European Research Group, which is made up of staunchly pro-Brexit Tory MPs. Many prominent Brexiteers have backed Mrs Truss.
A figure involved in Mr Tugendhat’s campaign said of his Tory supporters: “Most of them will go to Penny or Rishi.
Most – but not all – are not big fans of Liz. So there might be an element of Penny taking a few.
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