The U.K. Conservatives, ejected from power in a landslide electoral defeat just over three months ago, appear set to tack toward the right after Tory Members of Parliament narrowed down the race to lead the party to two rightwing contenders in Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.
Wednesday’s vote appeared to crystallize the ideological direction of the Tories through the shock elimination of the centrist former home and foreign secretary, James Cleverly, who as leader might have sought to win back voters from the governing Labour Party and the third force in British politics, the Liberal Democrats.
Instead, by choosing Badenoch or Jenrick, the party looks set to appeal to supporters lost to Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform U.K. party on the right. Here’s a look at the two candidates, who will now be put to a vote among the wider party membership — which numbered around 150,000 in their last vote in 2022 — with a result due on Nov. 2:
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