The race to become the next Tory leader is already well under way, as the party reels from its worst electoral performance since 1832.

Election night shook up the leadership contest, notably by ruling out Penny Mordaunt, who "would have been a front runner in her third tilt at the leadership" had she not lost her Portsmouth North seat, said the i news site. Here are the surviving top contenders to lead the party.

Kemi Badenoch 7/2
The current favourite with bookmakers, former business secretary Badenoch has risen rapidly through the Tory ranks to become a "darling of Conservative right-wingers" thanks to her "direct approach and dedication to 'anti-woke' principles", said the BBC.

Tom Tugendhat: 5/1
The former security minister and soldier is "seen as being on the moderate wing of the party", said The Telegraph. That has "boosted" his leadership prospects, said Politico, and insiders claim Tugendhat has been "working quietly in the background" on testing the water with colleagues for their support.

Priti Patel: 13/2
Badenoch's most serious challenge from the right of the party is expected to come from Patel. The former home secretary used a pre-election column in The Telegraph to reaffirm the Conservatives as an "unashamedly pro-business party that believes in promoting the low-tax environment that the nation's entrepreneurs and wealth creators need to flourish and be successful" – music to the ears of Tory MPs and members looking for back-to-basics conservatism.

Suella Braverman: 10/1
Braverman was once a favourite for future Tory leader, but her "attacks from the sidelines" on Sunak's leadership and the party's direction "could hamper any chance of her sustaining a serious leadership bid", said the i news site. Whether her strong words are received as a betrayal of party loyalty or as "tough love" needed to turn the ship around remains to be seen.

James Cleverly: 12/1
Allies have said the former foreign secretary "lacks the appetite" to succeed Sunak, citing his wife Susie's battle with cancer as a factor, The Times reported last month. But supporters whisper about him "'playing the longer game' after the inevitable internecine conflict which will follow the loss to Labour", said Anne McElvoy on i news.

Reform UK and the Greens made historic gains last night, with pro-Gaza independent candidates also claiming victories.

After winning in Clacton-on-Sea, Reform leader Nigel Farage said that he planned to "build a mass national movement over the course of the next few years", and "hopefully it'll be big enough to challenge the general election properly" in 2029.

'Fox in the henhouse'
Although the first-past-the-post electoral system favours the big two, the rise of smaller parties could significantly influence the fortunes of Labour and the Conservatives in both the long and short term.

Reform came second in more than 100 seats, suggesting the right-wing party may become "even more of a force at future elections", said Politico. The Tories must now "decide what to do" in response, said The Economist: "Put simply", Farage "must be buried or bedded".

Farage will be "emboldened to replace, rather than seek a pact with" the Conservatives, said Robert Shrimsley in the Financial Times. His success in finally becoming an MP, after seven failed attempts, means the "fox is in the henhouse", said former Ukip MEP Patrick O'Flynn in The Telegraph. Reform is "about to tear the cosy Westminster clique to shreds". Not only does Farage have "democratic legitimacy and a media platform as an MP", his party also now "qualifies for a small fortune in Short Money with which to bankroll a professional party machine".

British politics is "about to change utterly", said Shrimsley.

'Shape government policy'
The threat to Labour may not just be from the right. Gaza has cost the party at least five seats, said Isabel Hardman in The Spectator. So the success of those independent candidates might "shape UK government policy", because Starmer will "have to decide" what to do about Israel and "whether to change the current arms exports licensing regime".

The new Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, said that her party will be looking to influence Starmer on climate. A change of government "doesn't change very much unless we can get some of the ideas in our manifesto into Labour's programme", she told the i news site. "That's what we're working on."

Somerset: Clayhanger, Wadeford 
An enchanting 19th century house. Main suite, 2 further beds (both en suite), shower, kitchen, 2 receps, study, 2-bed annexe, garden, garage. £1.2m; Symonds & Sampson 

Hampshire: Compton End, Compton
Grade II 17th century cottage extended and restored in the arts and crafts style. The garden, designed by G.H. Kitchin, features in Historic England’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 4 beds, family bath, shower, kitchen, 3 receps, summer house, garden, pond, garage. £1.75m; Inigo

Devon: Higher Ashton, Exeter 
An attractive farmhouse next to Dartmoor National Park with commanding views over the Teign Valley. 6 beds, 2 bath, shower, kitchen/breakfast room, 4 receps, pool, 2-bed cottage, outbuildings, garden, parking. £3.5m; Rendells

The deluded Nadine Dorries is just excellent broadcast value
Sarah Carson on the i news site
One "shock" of election night was that I spent "seven hours straight watching Channel 4", writes Sarah Carson. When it comes to such coverage, the network has a "bad record", opting to "eschew serious discussion" in favour of "an 'alternative' approach" that feels "puerile, flippant and smug". Yet it "united" "top talent" from "popular and influential" podcasts to offer "the most energising coverage of the night", with appearances by former political heavyweights including the "deluded" Nadine Dorries adding "entertainment value".

Foreign Challenges
Leader in The Times
For voters and new ministers, the post-election priority is usually "the domestic agenda on which the new government was elected", but for Keir Starmer, the outside world will "press in immediately", says The Times. "Rarely has the global situation been so complicated" and "so dangerous and so contentious". The new PM needs to "master these briefs quickly" and, with Ukraine, Gaza and a Nato summit to come, it will be a "swift and unrelenting plunge into world affairs".

France can argue later – now everyone who cares about our democracy must unite to keep the far right out
Rokhaya Diallo for The Guardian
Despite the "imminence of the potential catastrophe now facing France", many in the political centre "still struggle with the idea of uniting" to keep National Rally (RN) out, writes Rokhaya Diallo. Stopping the far-right takes "courage and moral clarity", and politicians "need to put their individual interests aside". For the privileged, "failing to do everything in their power to block the RN may seem acceptable", but "they need to think about those millions whose lives are at risk".