The heat is on Tory leadership hopefuls today as they face another knockout vote after a brutal TV debate.

Conservative MPs will whittle the number of candidates down from five to four in the wake of the televised showdown that saw Rishi Sunak brand Liz Truss 'Socialist' for ignoring the need to balance the books, as she slated his tax hikes.

A snap poll by Opinium found that the former Chancellor emerged on top from the extraordinary blue-on-blue session on ITV, cementing his status as the front runner.

But Ms Truss seems to be gaining ground after a more assured performance, while Penny Mordaunt struggles to maintain her early momentum.

Kemi Badenoch is also still giving a strong showing, with MPs due to decide within days which two candidates will go forward to a ballot of party members.

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat is the favourite to be eliminated tonight, despite polling well among floating voters with his 'clean start' pitch.

It appears that was the last time the contenders will face off - because Mr Sunak and Ms Truss have signalled they probably will not take part in the scheduled Sky News debate tomorrow night. 

The 1,000 people surveyed by Opinium found that 24 per cent thought Mr Sunak came out on top in the debate, with Mr Tugendhat second on 19 per cent, Ms Mordaunt third on 17 per cent, narrowly ahead of Ms Truss on 15 per cent and Ms Badenoch's 12 per cent.

Mr Sunak was also the choice of Tory voters, although the advantage was only 24 per cent to 21 per cent for Ms Mordaunt and 20 per cent for Ms Truss - a major improvement for the Foreign Secretary after her stuttering turn in the first debate.