The Moderate Conservatives are threatening to throw out their ballot papers after Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick were named as the final two candidates for the Tory leadership.
A supporter of James Cleverly said moderate members told him they were putting their ballot papers “in the trash can” following the surprise exit of their challenger, who is considered the most centrist candidate.
Both Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch are seen as being on the right of the party. Mr Jenrick has vowed to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, while Ms Badenoch has taken a stand against “woke” policies.
This raises the possibility of a damaging split in the party; Those in the center feel they have no say in the future direction of the party.
It is understood Mr Cleverly does not plan to throw his weight behind either Ms Badenoch or Mr Jenrick in the near future.
It comes as a blame game erupted over Mr Cleverly’s shock elimination from the race on Wednesday. Furious Conservatives accused MPs of “freelancing” in a misguided tactical voting game, while others pointed the finger at Mr Cleverly’s campaign manager, Grant Shapps, who was known to keep track of his supporters in a spreadsheet.
A supporter of Cleverly said: “Huge disappointment in membership with the result of the last vote.
“This morning I’ve already had a dozen members tell me they’re going to throw their ballot papers in the trash because they weren’t given a say.”
The MP said many people were angered by Mr Cleverly’s elimination, although there was widespread agreement that his leadership speech was best received among activists at the Tory conference.
“It’s not just that James had a good conference, but maybe what’s more important is that others didn’t,” he said.
“While the party is trying to encourage youth and women to vote for the party again, denigrating maternity pay like Kemi did seems like suicide.
“If the party defends the rule of law, why should we talk about special forces carrying out extrajudicial killings, as Robert did?
“They both had bad conferences and showed they were not consistent under fire.”
The Conservative Reform Group, which represents the centrist “one nation” wing of the party, has refused to support either of the final two candidates.
The TRG, whose chairman is former chancellor Lord Clarke, said it could not support either of the remaining candidates because both used rhetoric “so far removed from the party at its best”.
The group describes itself as the “home of One Nation Conservatism since 1975” and its senior members include Sir John Major and former de facto deputy prime minister Damian Green.
In a statement, the group said: “TRG members were consulted throughout the process and the results clearly show that no candidate received broad support from the majority of our members.
“Both used rhetoric and focused on issues that were far from the best of the party, let alone the One Nation values we cherish and support. Therefore, TRG’s board of directors unanimously concluded that we cannot support either candidate.”
Some of the MPs serving in TRG announced their support for one of the remaining candidates.
fight for the leader
Shadow Treasury secretary Nigel Huddleston backed Ms Badenoch, while shadow Scotland secretary John Lamont signaled support for Mr Jenrick.
A source from the Cleverly campaign said they believe he will take time to think about his future and will not support either candidate anytime soon.
Both Mr Jenrick and Ms Badenoch have indicated he would be given a key shadow cabinet post if they win.
But one supporter said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the opportunity to take a break in the back row.
“His wife had just recovered from a serious illness, which showed how valuable family time can be.”
One MP said he was annoyed that the other two candidates were trying to portray Mr Cleverly as a “limp-wristed, flower-arranging Liberal Democrat”, adding: “He supported Truss and Boris.”
Mr Jenrick made his first major speech after delivering the last two, suggesting Ms Badenoch would create “unnecessary drama” if elected leader.
Speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank in central London, he said the Conservatives “exist to serve our country in government, not to fight on Twitter”.
He said the party needed to show voters it was offering “a serious plan, not unnecessary drama”.
“They need to see that we are focusing on what they really care about, not going down rabbit holes,” the former immigration minister added.
His comments were seen as a swipe at Ms Badenoch, who attacked her critics on social media, including former Dr Who actor David Tennant.
Mr Jenrick also rejected suggestions that MPs in his camp were involved in vote trading to ensure he got into the bottom two of the leadership election.
He said: “We did not exchange votes. “We worked tirelessly to persuade our colleagues to rally as many supporters as possible in Parliament.”
On Thursday night Mr Jenrick won the backing of Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. The former business secretary said he was best placed to turn around the fortunes of the Conservative Party after the party’s historic election defeat.
Sir Jacob lost his seat in North West Somerset to Labor in July as a result of a near-total wipeout that saw the Conservatives fall to just 121 MPs.
Speaking on the Great Britain News programme, he said: “I decided to support Robert Jenrick because he understands the depth of the challenge the Conservatives face and the courage to do something about it.”
This support is a boost for Mr Jenrick because Sir Jacob is seen as a stalwart of the Conservative Right.
Like the former immigration minister, he called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and significantly reduce immigration.