Moderate Conservatives are threatening to throw their ballots away after Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick were selected as the final two candidates in the bid for Tory leadership.
One supporter of James Cleverly said moderate members told him they were putting their ballot papers “in the bin” following the surprise exit of their contender, who was considered the most centrist candidate.
Both Mr Jenrick and Mrs Badenoch are seen as being on the Right of the party. Mr Jenrick is promising to withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights, while Mrs Badenoch has made a stand against “woke” policies.
It raises the prospect of a damaging split in the party, with those on the centre feeling they have no say over its future direction.
Mr Cleverly is understood to not be planning to throw his weight behind either Mrs 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 Tories blamed MPs for “freelancing” in a misguided game of tactical voting, while others pointed the finger at Grant Shapps, Mr Cleverly’s campaign manager known to track supporters on a spreadsheet.
A Cleverly supporter said: “There is a huge amount of disappointment in the membership at the result of the final ballot.
“This morning I have already had a dozen members telling me they will throw their ballot papers in the bin because they are being denied their say.”
The MP said many were angry that Mr Cleverly had been eliminated even though it was widely agreed that his leadership speech had gone down best among activists at the Tory conference.
“Not only did James have a good conference, what perhaps is more important is that the others did not,” he said.
“When the party is trying to attract young people and women to vote for the party again, it seems suicidal to denigrate maternity pay, as Kemi did.
“When the party stands for the rule of law, why talk about special forces carrying out extra-judicial killings, as Robert did?
“They both had bad conferences and showed they were not steady under fire.”
It comes as the Tory Reform Group, which represents those on the centrist “one nation” wing of the party, refused to endorse either of the final two candidates.
The TRG, whose president is Lord Clarke, the former chancellor, said it could not support either remaining candidate as they had both used rhetoric, which is “far and away from the party at its best”.
The group describes itself as “the home of One Nation Conservatism since 1975”, and senior members include Sir John Major and Damian Green, the former de facto deputy prime minister.
In a statement, the group said: “TRG members were consulted throughout the process, and the results clearly show that neither candidate has secured widespread support from the majority of our membership.
“Both have used rhetoric and focused on issues, which are far and away from the party at its best, let alone the One Nation values we cherish and uphold. Therefore, the board of the TRG has unanimously concluded that we are unable to endorse either candidate.”
Some of the TRG serving MPs have declared their support for one of the remaining candidates.
Battle for leader
Nigel Huddleston, the shadow Treasury minister, is supporting Mrs Badenoch, while John Lamont, the shadow Scotland secretary, has signalled his support for Mr Jenrick.
A source in the Cleverly campaign said they believed he would take time to reflect on his future and would not be endorsing either candidate soon, if at all.
Both Mr Jenrick and Mrs 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 some time off on the backbenches.
“His wife has just recovered from serious illness, which showed just how precious family time can be.”
An MP said he had been irritated by the way the two other candidates had tried to paint Mr Cleverly as a “limp-wristed, flower-arranging Lib Dem”, saying: “He supported Truss and Boris.”
It comes as Mr Jenrick used his first major speech since making the final two to suggest Mrs Badenoch would create “needless drama” if elected leader.
Speaking at the Policy Exchange think tank in central London he said the Tories “exist to serve our country in government, not to do battle on Twitter”.
He said the party must show the electorate it offers “a serious plan, not needless drama”.
“They need to see that we are laser-focused on what they really care about, not getting drawn down rabbit holes,” the former immigration minister added.
His remarks were seen as a swipe at Mrs Badenoch who has taken to attacking her critics on social media, including David Tennant, the former Dr Who actor.
Mr Jenrick also denied claims that MPs in his camp had been involved in vote trading to ensure that he made the final two of the leadership election.
He said: “We did not trade any votes. We worked relentlessly to persuade colleagues to get the greatest number of supporters we could 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 reverse Tory fortunes in the wake of the party’s historic election defeat.
Sir Jacob lost his North West Somerset seat to Labour in July in a near-wipeout that saw the Conservatives reduced to just 121 MPs.
Speaking on his GB News programme, he said: “I have decided to support Robert Jenrick because he understands the depth of the challenge the Conservatives face and the gumption to do something about it.”
The endorsement is a boost for Mr Jenrick because Sir Jacob is seen as a stalwart of the Tory Right.
Like the former immigration minister, he has also called for Britain to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and significantly cut immigration.
