Kemi and Jenrick’s campaign leaflets have been fired off to the members ahead of the final vote. The fight for the right drags on…

Kemi focuses on the fact she’s an “engineer” and that’s who’s needed to “fix the system“. To clarify for co-conspirators, she worked in IT as a software engineer for 3 years. There’s plenty of talk on renewal, growth, net zero and shrinking the state. She also whacks up a poll that shows she’s the “choice to defeat Labour”. Notably Jenrick’s name is nowhere to be seen on that…

Meanwhile, Jenrick ditches any polls, instead putting in place a ‘letter’ to the members. He lays out a six-point plan which includes capping migration, leaving the ECHR, up defence spending to 3% GDP, and bring in a low-tax revolution. Campaign in poetry…

See the two leaflets below:

As ballot papers are being sent to the doormats of thousands of Tory members, the leadership race is heating up. Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are playing two very different games. Jenrick’s going all out on the media rounds as well as doing two televised speeches and Q&As (so far). Meanwhile, Kemi’s giving the press the cold shoulder, noticeably absent from the airwaves, instead opting to post an old Q&A clip from 2022. No surprise there considering Kemi’s had her fair share of bust-ups with the media…

Meanwhile, Popular Conservatism have given Kemi the slap for dodging their questions—slapped Kemi down for dodging their emailed questions—a set Jenrick happily answered—and are now supporting Rob. Though Liz Truss has since made it clear that doesn’t mean she’s throwing her weight behind him. Kemi has instead decided to take her pitch directly to the membership, travelling across the country to appeal to the members. One Badenoch backer, with a bit of shade, tells Guido:

“Campaigns that are trailing have to try and make up the gap with constant media appearances and demands for debates. It just all bears the strong whiff of desperation.”

Their first head-to-head debate will be tomorrow on GB News at 7 p.m. Expect some spicy blue-on-blue attack lines…

Jenrick has given his second speech of the final leadership run this morning at the Centre for Policy Studies. It’s 2-0 with Kemi on speeches given so far…

The leadership hopeful has set out his economic priorities, some vague, some specific. Here is a summary:

• Slash the number of civil servants back to pre-Brexit levels, cutting c100,000 jobs. Just like Hunt promised…
• Cut 2p off basic rate of income tax by returning disability and incapacity caseload back to 2019 levels.
• “Hold public sector leaders accountable for their failures,” including NHS managers.
• Invest in the automation in government, replace old IT systems.
• “Embrace the possibilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning to speed up our work.“
• Shorten the claimant review point for the long-term unemployed from 18 months to 12 months.
• Withhold student loans to the worst performing 10% of courses for graduate outcomes to reduce student numbers by 130,000.
• Close down “failed” universities and replace them with apprenticeship hubs.
• Zone urban areas for densification – speed up and simplify the planning process. Ensure that residents in suburbs can decide on densification.
• Build low-cost nuclear plants using South Korean specifications.

Jenrick declines to say the income tax cut will be in the next Tory manifesto if he becomes leader. Some red meat for the membership to get into there…

The debate between Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick on The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots has been pulled, just over a week before it was set to air next Thursday. Naturally, there’s spin coming from both leadership camps as to why…

Guido hears Kemi dropped out having complained of host Harry Cole being “overly-critical” of her in previous interviews, while Team Kemi insist she was “happy to do” the debate, and that it was NewsUK who pulled it. BBC Question Time have offered to fill the slot, which Jenrick has already accepted. Wherever the debate, co-conspirators can be sure to expect some blue-on-blue attacks...

Jenrick is kicking off the final round battle with a speech at Policy Exchange on Old Queen Street. Hacks abound…

LIVE: The Choice We Face – Starts at 12pm https://t.co/aHSrgyjTla

— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) October 10, 2024

Team Jenrick has challenged Kemi to constant TV battles. Currently GB News has the only debate, on Thursday…

Jenrick has spoken to GB News following his ascension to the final two. He’s a happy man…

“I’m absolutely delighted to have got the trust and the confidence of so many. I have a very specific plan as to how we do that whether it’s improving the NHS, getting growth going again in our economy or securing our borders – I don’t believe in platitudes I want us to have a serious plan now.”

The leadership hopeful claims vote-lending accusations are a “conspiracy theory“:

“I think in the privacy of the ballot box my colleagues have voted for who they think is the best person to take this party forward.”

He is framing the race now as one on immigration policy:

“On immigration we do differ. I believe that we should leave the ECHR. In fact I think it’s the only way in which we’ll control our borders. We’ll get foreign criminals out of this country, we’ll get terror suspects out and we’ll actually restore sovereignty to Parliament. Also we do disagree on whether we should have a capped system of migration.”

Jenrick is still pushing for the member vote to be pushed forward for a Budget reponse from the new leader. Pushback from Badenoch so far…