What do Tory members make of final two in leadership contest?

After weeks of voting by Tory MPs, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are done to the last circular of the Conservative Party enactment contention - and fleeting frontrunner James Cleverly is out.

Now the aboriginal of the enactment rests with its members, who volition ballot for the campaigner they judge tin reconstruct Tory fortunes aft their drubbing successful this year’s wide election.

Reacting to Wednesday's result, members who spoke to the BBC were either unsure oregon tentative astir who to back.

They’ve got the champion portion of a period to marque up their minds earlier voting closes and the victor is declared connected 2 November.

Sarah Whalley-Hoggins is 1 of an estimated 140,000 Conservative members who volition person a accidental successful the ballot.

The Conservative absorption person connected Stratford-on-Avon District Council, she’s leaning towards Jenrick.

She said his resignation arsenic migration minister implicit the Rwanda strategy past twelvemonth “shows a antheral of principle”.

But she added that the enactment needed to marque sweeping changes - including reforming its enactment processes - earlier it tin earnestly situation to triumph wide elections again.

“I’m not choosing the campaigner for the adjacent premier minister,” she said. “I’m choosing the campaigner that’s going to benignant retired this once-great enactment of ours.

“That to maine is precise important, oregon we’re ne'er going to triumph different wide election.”

Ed Costelloe, president of Grassroots Conservatives, said helium was amazed James Cleverly did not marque it to the ballot of members.

Polling suggests Bachnoch is the favourite to instrumentality the crown, helium said, but added: “When you perceive to mean members who person ne'er been polled, there’s much open-mindedness.”

Mr Costelloe said helium was personally leaning towards Badenoch.

“Kemi Badenoch is the benignant of idiosyncratic who tin basal up and successful a sense, go much presidential. I fishy that she volition win.

“She volition marque a fewer failings of course. But besides I fishy she volition mould herself connected Maggie Thatcher, accidental she’s going to get things done, and radical volition astir apt judge her.”

James Hawkes, a subordinate of the Young Conservatives from Hull, said lodging volition beryllium a large contented for him and others his age.

“We request a campaigner who’s consenting to physique much houses,” helium said.

He lamented Cleverly’s exit, which “might not beryllium the best” for the party.

Badenoch, Mr Hawkes said, “appeals excessively overmuch to the Reform-ist rightwing and it conscionable won’t work”.

Mr Hawkes said Jenrick has the close balance, adding helium tin entreaty "more to the close and near of the enactment connected a scope of issues".

John Strafford, seasoned campaigner for greater grassroots ideology successful the party, said the strategy presently utilized for choosing leaders is an “absolute disaster”.

He argues that the last 4 should person been enactment to a ballot of the rank aft they had delivered their speeches astatine past week’s enactment conference, alternatively than being whittled down to 2 by the MPs.

Under the existent system, which was brought successful by erstwhile person William Hague, the champion campaigner does not needfully win, argues Mr Strafford, who chairs the Conservative Democratic Organisation.

“The full happening is manipulated. Bribery takes place. The MPs volition lone ballot connected the ground of ‘what’s successful it for me?’ They are looking for jobs, titles and honours. It’s a unspeakable mode successful which to bash things.”

He is campaigning for enactment contests to beryllium taken retired of the hands of the 1922 committee of backbenchers, which helium says support changing the rules, and enactment into a caller enactment constitution.

Richard Lewington, who chairs the Madrid subdivision of Conservatives Abroad, shared Mr Strafford’s unhappiness with the MPs getting to take the last two, saying: “It should beryllium a membership-led enactment process.”

He had been portion of Tom Tugendhat’s enactment campaign, helium said, and has not decided who to ballot for, adding that different members of his organisation were “split” and inactive wondering astir who to back.

But helium said Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick were some “excellent choices” who would assistance the enactment triumph backmost enactment from Reform UK.

“They are precise akin successful their philosophies, precise overmuch to the close of the party,” helium told the BBC.

“This is wherever the enactment needs to go,” helium added, arguing that it was “not close enough” astatine this year’s wide election, and needed to get backmost to “common consciousness policies” and “small government”.

Reflecting connected the astonishment rejection of James Cleverly, who helium described arsenic a “continuity” candidate, helium said: “It seems that the Parliamentary Conservative Party privation to interruption distant from the norm.”