Tory leadership contender Jeremy Hunt told news crews he was "quietly confident" of getting enough votes in the first ballot later today.
The former health and foreign secretary spoke as he left his home on a bicycle this morning.
He came second to Boris Johnson in the 2019 contest and has remained an influential backbencher.
Government blocks Labour no confidence motion
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Ever since Boris Johnson said he would step down, Labour have been pushing for a vote of no confidence - a vote in which MPs from all parties decide whether they want the government to continue.
But that bid has now been blocked by ministers - who control the parliamentary timetable.
A spokesman for No 10 said the PM had already said he would quit and a vote would not be a valuable use of MPs' time.
Under parliamentary conventions, ministers should allow time for MPs to vote on a motion from the official opposition expressing lack of confidence in the government.
But Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans said the government had concluded that Labour's motion could not be considered as such.
Sunak: I will run the economy like Margaret Thatcher
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
It's become clear over the last few days that tax has become the big issue that the contenders need to make their position clear on.
Rishi Sunak says he would run the economy like former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher if he is chosen to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and prime minister.
In an interview in the Daily Telegraph, Sunak says he'll prioritise tackling inflation first and later cut taxes responsibly if he wins.
“We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly,” he says.
"That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done.”
The paper also reports that Sunak indicated he does not plan to lift the ban on new grammar schools or the hunting ban.
Truss tight-lipped as MPs prepare for first round of voting
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wished news crews a good morning as she left her house in London a little earlier, but ignored questions about the Conservative leadership race.
She is one of eight candidates who got through the nominations round last night, and is seen as one of the frontrunners in the contest so far.
She has got the backing of two of Mr Johnson most loyal colleagues - Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Zahawi 'put the country first' with letter to Johnson
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been on Radio 4 this morning talking about his bid to be PM, and says he put the country first when he asked Boris Johnson to step down as prime minister.
Zahawi, who was appointed last week after the resignation of Rishi Sunak, says he told the prime minister he was in danger of being humiliated unless he resigned.
But he says Johnson, who is a friend of 30 years, told him he'd "like to have one more go, let me just try".
Zahawi says it became obvious to him that it was not possible to have a functioning government with the number of ministers that were resigning.
He says the only thing he could do was write a letter to the prime minister calling on him to go.
Our next prime minister is still far from obvious
Chris Mason
Political editor
After today's vote, the key will be what happens to the rejected and their supporters' votes - where do they head next?
We've already seen the first example of what will happen again and again in the coming days - a candidate throwing their lot in with someone else.
The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps didn't even get out of the garage with his campaign before clambering aboard Rishi Sunak's.
And the competition for votes is feverish. One MP, who had supported Mr Shapps, showed me their phone - and the instant electronic attention they were paid by loads of other candidates and their teams.
Missed calls, WhatsApps, you name it, instantaneous wooing. And it's only just beginning.
It is far from obvious who our next prime minister will be and pretty much whoever it is, right now at least, is barely known to the wider electorate.
And one of them will be in 10 Downing Street in eight weeks' time.
At 10:30 BST, we're expecting Trade Minister Penny
Mordaunt to formally launch her campaign.
Tory MPs are to begin casting their first round of votes in the contest to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and prime minister at 13:30 BST. The result is expected at 17:00.
More hustings will take place at 10:00 BST and again at 17:00 at the 1922 committee after the results from the first round of votes are in.
Labour's Rachel Reeves will speak at 14:15 BST about how Labour plans to reboot the economy and protect public
finances.
Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments.
What's the state of play this morning?
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
This is a fast-moving contest, so here's a recap of where we're at:
Yesterday:
Eight candidates secured the backing of 20 MPs and made it through to the first ballot: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi
Sajid Javid and Rehman Chishti failed to get enough nominations and withdrew from the contest
Today:
Another husting event is due to take place this morning - it will be closed to the media, but we'll bring you the whispers from outside
Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt will formally launch her campaign
The first round of voting will take place - those who don't get the support of 30 MPs will be eliminated
Then:
More rounds of voting will take place over the next few days in order to whittle the number of candidates down to two
The winner due to be announced on 5 September
Good morning, and welcome
Good morning. It promises to be another busy day of politics, with more hustings this morning, PMQs, and the first ballot of hopefuls this afternoon.
We'll keep you updated as the day goes on - stick with us for up-to-the-minute coverage, analysis and explainers.
Live Reporting
Edited by Claudia Allen
All times stated are UK
Get involved
Hunt confident of support ahead of first vote
Tory leadership contender Jeremy Hunt told news crews he was "quietly confident" of getting enough votes in the first ballot later today.
The former health and foreign secretary spoke as he left his home on a bicycle this morning.
He came second to Boris Johnson in the 2019 contest and has remained an influential backbencher.
Government blocks Labour no confidence motion
Ever since Boris Johnson said he would step down, Labour have been pushing for a vote of no confidence - a vote in which MPs from all parties decide whether they want the government to continue.
But that bid has now been blocked by ministers - who control the parliamentary timetable.
Last night Downing Street said it would allow a vote of no confidence in the government but not the prime minister, leading to accusations from Labour that it was "running scared".
A spokesman for No 10 said the PM had already said he would quit and a vote would not be a valuable use of MPs' time.
Under parliamentary conventions, ministers should allow time for MPs to vote on a motion from the official opposition expressing lack of confidence in the government.
But Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans said the government had concluded that Labour's motion could not be considered as such.
Sunak: I will run the economy like Margaret Thatcher
It's become clear over the last few days that tax has become the big issue that the contenders need to make their position clear on.
Rishi Sunak says he would run the economy like former Tory PM Margaret Thatcher if he is chosen to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and prime minister.
In an interview in the Daily Telegraph, Sunak says he'll prioritise tackling inflation first and later cut taxes responsibly if he wins.
“We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly,” he says.
"That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done.”
The paper also reports that Sunak indicated he does not plan to lift the ban on new grammar schools or the hunting ban.
Truss tight-lipped as MPs prepare for first round of voting
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss wished news crews a good morning as she left her house in London a little earlier, but ignored questions about the Conservative leadership race.
She is one of eight candidates who got through the nominations round last night, and is seen as one of the frontrunners in the contest so far.
She has got the backing of two of Mr Johnson most loyal colleagues - Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries.
Zahawi 'put the country first' with letter to Johnson
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has been on Radio 4 this morning talking about his bid to be PM, and says he put the country first when he asked Boris Johnson to step down as prime minister.
Zahawi, who was appointed last week after the resignation of Rishi Sunak, says he told the prime minister he was in danger of being humiliated unless he resigned.
But he says Johnson, who is a friend of 30 years, told him he'd "like to have one more go, let me just try".
Zahawi says it became obvious to him that it was not possible to have a functioning government with the number of ministers that were resigning.
He says the only thing he could do was write a letter to the prime minister calling on him to go.
Our next prime minister is still far from obvious
Chris Mason
Political editor
After today's vote, the key will be what happens to the rejected and their supporters' votes - where do they head next?
We've already seen the first example of what will happen again and again in the coming days - a candidate throwing their lot in with someone else.
The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps didn't even get out of the garage with his campaign before clambering aboard Rishi Sunak's.
And the competition for votes is feverish. One MP, who had supported Mr Shapps, showed me their phone - and the instant electronic attention they were paid by loads of other candidates and their teams.
Missed calls, WhatsApps, you name it, instantaneous wooing. And it's only just beginning.
It is far from obvious who our next prime minister will be and pretty much whoever it is, right now at least, is barely known to the wider electorate.
And one of them will be in 10 Downing Street in eight weeks' time.
Read more from Chris Mason here.
Here’s what’s coming up today
So here are today's timings...
At 10:30 BST, we're expecting Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt to formally launch her campaign.
Tory MPs are to begin casting their first round of votes in the contest to replace Boris Johnson as party leader and prime minister at 13:30 BST. The result is expected at 17:00.
More hustings will take place at 10:00 BST and again at 17:00 at the 1922 committee after the results from the first round of votes are in.
Labour's Rachel Reeves will speak at 14:15 BST about how Labour plans to reboot the economy and protect public finances.
Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments.
What's the state of play this morning?
This is a fast-moving contest, so here's a recap of where we're at:
Yesterday:
Today:
Then:
Good morning, and welcome
Good morning. It promises to be another busy day of politics, with more hustings this morning, PMQs, and the first ballot of hopefuls this afternoon.
We'll keep you updated as the day goes on - stick with us for up-to-the-minute coverage, analysis and explainers.