‘The race is wide open’: MPs’ vote looms for six Tory leadership hopefuls

Badenoch and Jenrick are the bookies' favourites but the party's reduced ranks make the numbers extremely tight

• Who are the leadership candidates?

When the Conservative MPs who remain return to Westminster, they will briefly seem like some of the most popular people in SW1. With the party so reduced in numbers, the next few days will see a furious wooing of those who have not yet declared for one of the six leadership candidates.

The race is wide open," one senior Tory said. There are barely any public endorsements so no one can tell who is the favourite. The public polling has been all over the place. Often they seem to be just based on who has paid for it."