Who will go head-to-head for the Tory leadership?

With just days to go before the four candidates in the Conservative leadership race are whittled down to just two by MPs, it appears there is all to play for.

- MILLIE COOKE

Polls published during Tory leadership races are notoriously unreliable, not only because the membership is often hard to pin down, but also because every round of voting so far has been among MPs.

But in the lead-up to the next round of voting, it’s clear some candidates have had a better few weeks than others. We take a look at the highs and lows of their campaigns over the last two weeks, and where that leaves them ahead of the next ballot on Tuesday, with the results expected on Wednesday.

Kemi Badenoch

She has long been seen as a frontrunner among the party membership, but she had a difficult few days at the Tory conference, with missteps on maternity pay and her suggestion some civil servants “should be in prison”.

Unfortunately for Badenoch, this was reflected in the polls. A survey from YouGov, published last week, suggested rival Robert Jenrick is closing in on her, sitting just four points behind the former business secretary.