Robert Jenrick emerges as surprise frontrunner in Tory leadership race

Robert Jenrick is currently ahead of his Tory leadership competitors in terms of receiving donations from wealthy supporters, having collected £250,000 by the end of last month. In contrast, some other candidates have not yet reached the fundraising goal necessary to remain in the competition.

Jenrick collected 250,000 pounds by the end of August, while Kemi Badenoch, his closest rival, gathered around 200,000 pounds.

According to the Conservative party's rules, candidates who reach the last four next Tuesday need to give the party £50,000. The two candidates who progress to the final round after the conference in October must also write a check for £150,000 to the Conservative campaign headquarters.

As of the end of August, Jenrick and Badenoch were leading in fundraising compared to the other three candidates. James Cleverly raised nearly £100,000, Tom Tugendhat brought in £70,000, and Mel Stride only managed to raise £30,000.

Tugendhat received a sum of £44,500 from Blue WV, a company established in November of the previous year and under the control of ex-Number 10 adviser Guy Miscampbell. Tugendhat's team declined to comment on the operations of the company and the origin of the funds from Miscampbell.

Priti Patel, the sixth candidate, dropped out of the competition this week. She managed to collect over £180,000 in donations, with £70,000 coming from a prominent Conservative supporter named Lubov Chernukhin. Chernukhin is a businesswoman and the wife of a former deputy finance minister in Russia under Putin's administration. Unfortunately, Patel did not receive sufficient backing from Conservative Members of Parliament and was ultimately removed from the race.

The Conservative party has focused heavily on candidates' fundraising abilities, as they had limited funds remaining after the election.

A leader at a leadership camp mentioned that the candidates had to work hard to find donors, but now they will focus on gaining support from fellow members. Another candidate will be removed based on support from Members of Parliament.

Afterwards, four potential candidates will present speeches at a party convention in the beginning of October, before narrowing down the options to only two.

Jenrick has received donations from various sources, including a company owned by the spouse of ex-Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi, which gave £20,000. Additionally, he received £75,000 from a smaller company run by Mark Dembovsky, a lawyer and former head of Doughty Chambers.

Kemi Badenoch has received significant financial support from major backers, including a generous contribution of £50,000 from businessman Charles Keymer, £10,000 from Conservative peer and economist Dambisa Moyo, and another £10,000 from investor James Mellon.

Jenrick unexpectedly became the leading candidate among Members of Parliament on Wednesday, receiving the backing of 28 MPs, while Badenoch received 22 votes and Cleverly received 21.

Out of the six candidates, Patel received the least number of votes with 14, even though she was the most well-known candidate outside of Westminster. She came just behind Mel Stride, who received 16 votes, and Tom Tugendhat who received 17 votes.

Jenrick is the current front-runner according to the bookies, but a lot is riding on how the final four candidates perform at the upcoming Tory conference. Despite previously being seen as a centrist, he has gained support in Westminster by leaning towards the right, particularly on issues like migration.

On the other hand, a few of Priti Patel's followers are predicted to switch their support to Kemi Badenoch, increasing her overall count. Maria Caulfield, who previously supported Patel, announced on Thursday that she would now be backing Badenoch.

"After working alongside her in the government, I can attest that she understands the necessary changes our party must undergo to uphold our fundamental principles. It's not just about making empty promises to the public, but actually following through on them," she stated.

Following Patel's removal, Jenrick stated that she had successfully argued for the need to reform and increase democracy within the Conservative party.