The Spectator’s new editor Michael Gove spoke to the BBC’s Today Podcast this morning. Apart from saying he’d vote for Kamala Harris, Gove said one of Jenrick’s weaknesses is that “he looks like a typical Tory politician,” which is unhelpful given the “strength of feeling against Tory boys” across the country. He went on to praise mentee Badenoch’s “courage”…

Now a spokesman for Jenrick fires back:

“Michael Gove and his acolytes have been responsible for so much of the infighting and drama that has led our party to where it is. Rob’s going to end that drama and the excuses that followed and just deliver for our country.”

Rats in a sack. The Speccie will be a fun read if Jenrick wins the leadership…

As Tory members start casting their ballots, Jenrick and Kemi continue to bicker about the future of…leadership debates. Last week, Guido reported that The Sun’s “Never Mind the Ballots” debate was scrapped, with both leadership camps spinning their own tales about why. Now Jenrick is demanding a debate on BBC Question Time, saying he was “delighted to accept” their invitation. Though CCHQ’s rules, laid out back in July, are clear: “all candidates must agree not to participate in any televised hustings unless arranged by the Party Chairman.” Jenrick might be jumping the gun there…

Now it’s reported that Team Jenrick is alleging CCHQ is blocking further leadership debates because Party Chairman Richard Fuller—who’s meant to keep neutral—is secretly backing Badenoch. Worth remembering Fuller did vote in the final two round of MP votes, despite claiming he wouldn’t….

Meanwhile, Jenrick effectively sacked Fuller over the weekend, announcing he’d be bringing Jacob Rees-Mogg in as Chairman, a move that Guido hears didn’t go down too well at CCHQ. Now, Team Jenrick is going on the offensive. Yellow cards, anyone?

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Richard Fuller said: “The chairman is and has remained neutral throughout the contest. TV debates and hustings are to be agreed by the party board and are for the campaign teams to decide to commit to.”

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…

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…