In the most recent round of voting by Conservative MPs on Monday to choose Britain's next prime minister, former finance minister Rishi Sunak increased his lead, while the battle to make the last two narrowed. The party announced that Indian-origin UK MP Sunak received 115 votes, followed by Penny Mordaunt with 82 votes, Liz Truss with 71, Kemi Badenoch with 58, and Tom Tugendhat with 31, who withdraws as the last-placed candidate. Due to worries about image loss, Sunak and Truss withdrew from the third and final round of the TV debate that was scheduled to take place today. According to reports, Conservative MPs are worried about the harm the debates are bringing to the Conservative party's reputation by exposing divisions and differences within the party.
