A Kent MP is among the eight candidates in the battle to become the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister.

The deadline for nominations was 6pm today and Tom Tugendhat secured the 20 votes to make it to the ballot tomorrow.

Gillignham and Rainham MP Rehman Chishti and Sajid Javid pulled out of the contest moments before the announcement.

But Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat is among those taking part in the first round of voting tomorrow, after declaring that he has got the backing of 21 fellow MPs.

His competitors are Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi.

The 1922 Committee met last night to confirm the rules and timetable for replacing outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The chairman, Sir Graham Brady, said nominations would open and close on Tuesday, the first ballot would be on Wednesday and a second ballot was likely to be held on Thursday.

"We expect 20 supporters for each candidate... we'll also expect that on the first ballot any candidate to proceed must have won at least 30 votes from parliamentary colleagues," he added.

Sir Graham said the committee was trying to find a 'balance' in which the parliamentary proceedings were completed "reasonably quickly" before the summer recess.

He says the Conservative Party will get down to the final two candidates "as quickly as that happens".

It's expected the result will be announced on September 5 .

After the second round of voting on Thursday, four candidates are due to be left.

Three sets of hustings are planned for next Monday in what has been dubbed “super Monday”.

The last Tory leadership contest took place in 2019 after Theresa May stepped down following struggles to push through her Brexit deal.

In the contest that followed Boris Johnson ran out as eventual victor defeating Jeremy Hunt with a majority of the members' vote.

This time around, it is a crowded field in the race to become the next Conservative leader but who are Kent MPs backing?

So far, only a handful of the county's MPs have declared their support ahead of the election with many undeclared or undecided.

Candidates must have the support of 20 MPs to join the race under a change in the rules. Here's what we know so far:

Tom Tugendhat:

Damian Green (Ashford)

Rishi Sunak:

Laura Trott (Sevenoaks)

Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent)

Penny Morduant:

Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe)