Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are set to go head-to-head this evening in a crunch Tory leadership hustings hosted by The Telegraph.
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss will square off at a sold-out event in Cheltenham, with more than 1,800 Tory members due to attend to see the contenders in person.
It will be the sixth official hustings, with six more to go, as the two rivals try to gain an advantage in the increasingly bitter race for No 10.
There are now less than four weeks to go until Boris Johnson’s replacement is announced on September 5.
That means both candidates are running out of time to persuade Conservative Party members to vote for them.
Ms Truss is viewed as the firm frontrunner in the contest but Mr Sunak will know that he is still in with a chance of victory and that a strong showing tonight could help him to gain ground on the Foreign Secretary.
Follow the latest updates below.
04:22 PM
How did we get here?
We are only halfway through the Tory leadership contest but it is safe to say the race so far has already been a bruising affair.
The two campaigns have exchanged increasingly bitter broadsides as they have tried to gain an advantage.
The hustings events so far have provided some of the box office moments of the campaign, with Penny Mordaunt using the second event to publicly announce her backing for Liz Truss while the fourth event was disrupted by protesters.
You can find out what happened at all the previous hustings events in this excellent explainer.
04:12 PM
Tonight’s event is sold out
This evening’s hustings event in Cheltenham is number six on the schedule and there are six more to go so tonight represents a halfway point in the contest.
Andrew Stephenson, the chairman of the Conservative Party, said this evening’s event hosted by The Telegraph will be the best attended hustings yet.
More than 1,800 tickets have been sold, officially making it a sell-out.
04:06 PM
Who is hosting tonight’s hustings?
Tonight’s Tory leadership hustings in Cheltenham will start at 7pm and will finish at about 9pm.
It will be hosted by Camilla Tominey, The Telegraph’s Associate Editor. She will be putting the questions to the candidates.
04:02 PM
Good afternoon
Good afternoon and welcome to today’s special edition of The Telegraph’s politics live blog.
The Telegraph is hosting the sixth official Tory leadership hustings this evening and I will be on hand to guide you through the action.
There are now less than four weeks to go until the winner of the contest is due to be announced on September 5.
That means Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are running out of time to win over Tory members and secure their backing.
Tonight’s showdown in Cheltenham represents a major opportunity for Mr Sunak to gain ground or for Ms Truss to cement her status as the frontrunner.
Who will gain the upper hand? Let’s find out!