For Kemi Badenoch, less is more.

Before the Tory leadership TV showdown with rival Robert Jenrick, she’d declared: “I’m running a grassroots campaign, not a TV campaign or a media campaign.”

She was the frontrunner, after all, and according to conventional wisdom, had the most to lose from round-the-clock media interviews – which Mr Jenrick has done – and TV debates – which Mr Jenrick has demanded.

But in this TV leadership event in front of an audience of 400 Conservative Party members, hosted by GB News, she was the winner by a considerable distance and will now be odds-on favourite to become the next Tory leader.

This is likely to have been the only TV event with the two leadership candidates, given that a BBC programme proposed for next week is now in doubt because the Tories want to charge the audience for tickets.

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But Ms Badenoch’s performance here certainly appears to have vindicated her strategy of being sparing with her TV appearances. Despite her reputation for abrasiveness, here she was measured, good-natured – polished, even.

Voice-coaching, media training? Possibly. If so, it paid off. She was the clear winner. Calm, poised, well-briefed.

The show of hands among the audience at the end of the two-hour event was overwhelmingly in Ms Badenoch’s favour. And Mr Jenrick will now be struggling to recover. He needs to rethink his campaign.

But it’s almost certainly too late for that. Ballot papers to Conservative Party members were sent out this week and it’s predicted that many of them will vote within a few days of receiving them, so the contest could effectively be almost over.

Mr Jenrick has been accused of being a “one-trick immigration pony” and during this programme he concentrated too much on this one issue. He even prompted a groan from interviewer Christopher Hope at one point and then insisted his message on immigration and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was worth repeating.

Ms Badenoch, on the other hand, showed a better grasp of detail on a range of issues, from public spending to welfare policy, from the NHS to prisons. And she revealed herself to be a pragmatist rather than a dogmatist on contentious issues like Brexit and Mr Jenrick’s obsession with leaving the ECHR.

Leaving the ECHR wasn’t a “silver bullet”, she said. And she rejected a “bonfire of EU regulations”, saying she wasn’t going to scrap product safety laws. She was pragmatic on releasing prisoners from overcrowded jails too, saying the safety of prison officers was top priority.

She was emphatic, though, on pledging to scrap Labour’s move to slap VAT on private school fees, claiming it would be the first thing she would do if she became prime minister. On this, and all her pledges, she won warm applause. But this was probably the best crowd-pleaser.

And her answers to the inevitable questions about Sir Christopher Chope’s claim that she couldn’t be a mother and Tory leader were classy, pointing out that men as well as women have parental responsibilities.

She was most powerful on the threat posed to the Conservatives by Nigel Farage and Reform UK. She said Mr Farage “speaks with clarity and conviction”, whereas the Tories – under Rishi Sunak, though she didn’t name him – spoke like technocrats and managers.

But she warned that if the Tories “get this wrong” – the leadership election, that is – Reform UK will overtake them. And she insisted there’s no place for Mr Farage in a “broad church”, because he “wants to burn the church down”. A smart line.

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Mr Jenrick, who went first in this hustings, was clearly determined to appeal to the traditional right-wing instincts of Tory members. But he overdid the emphasis on immigration and the ECHR and at times sounded too much as if he was giving answers to questions that the audience wanted to hear.

After the event, the Jenrick camp were unrepentant. A spokesperson for the Tory leadership contender said: “Politicians should have policies – they do matter. None more so than on immigration.

“We won’t regain people’s trust unless we set out what we’d do differently this time.

“After the comparative performances tonight, the case for a real head-to-head debate is even stronger. Party members deserve to see these candidates debate the big challenges facing our country.”

But, if this turns out to be the only TV event, it may have been Mr Jenrick’s chance to catch up in the leadership race.

The race may not be over officially until the end of October, but on the evidence of this programme, Ms Badenoch is on course for victory.

Kemi Badenoch has hit back at a Tory MP’s suggestion that she can’t lead the party because she is too “preoccupied” with her children, saying “men have parental responsibilities too”.

Sir Christopher Chope, the Conservative MP for Christchurch, said earlier on Tuesday that he was supporting Robert Jenrick in the leadership race because he brought “more energy and commitment to the campaign”.

He went on to say: “As much as I like Kemi, she is preoccupied with her own children, quite understandably.”

Asked whether she could be both a mother and a party leader, Ms Badenoch told GB News: “Of course you can. I love my children. I have the most beautiful children in the world. I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

“I was able to be a great business secretary and trade secretary and equalities minister, effectively doing three jobs while balancing my home life.”

On what she would say to Sir Christopher, she said: “I might remind him that it isn’t always women who have parental responsibilities, men do too.”

Mother-of-three Ms Badenoch’s youngest child is five and her eldest is 12, while Mr Jenrick also has three children between the ages of eight and 13.

In the interview, with ITV News Meridian, Sir Christopher said: “Robert’s children are a bit older, and I think it’s important that whoever leads the opposition has got an immense amount of time and energy.”

He rejected that he meant mothers with young children can’t lead political parties, telling the broadcaster: “I’m not saying that at all – I was one of Margaret Thatcher’s staunchest supporters.

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“What gives me the concern is that I understand from colleagues that Kemi spends a lot of time with her family which I don’t resent at all… but the consequence of it is you can’t spend all your time with your family at the same time as being leader of the opposition.

“You could argue that Margaret Thatcher’s family suffered as a result of the commitment and dedication which she gave to leading our country. It’s a perfectly fair point.”

Sir Christopher’s comments have sparked a backlash from within the Tory party, including from Mr Jenrick himself.

Speaking to GB News, which hosted a leadership event this evening, the former immigration minister said: “He was wrong. He was definitely wrong.

“Kemi and I both have three children. She’s a great Mum. I’d like to think I’m a great Dad.”

Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins posted on X: “This is the 2020s, not the 1950s. All working mums and dads juggle family, career and general life.

“That one of our final two impressive candidates also happens to be a mum reflects the modern Conservative Party and modern life. Here’s to all working mums.”

And Nickie Aitken, the former MP for Cities of London and Westminster, wrote: “I was 7 months pregnant and with a toddler in tow when first elected a councillor in 2006.

“During their childhoods I became a council leader and MP. Like all working mums, political or otherwise, I juggled and made it work with my husband. Chope’s comments just show what a dinosaur he really is.”

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Sir Christopher’s comments are reminiscent of the 2016 Tory leadership campaign, when Andrea Leadsom, then an energy minister, suggested in an interview she would make a better party leader and prime minister than Theresa May because she was a mother and had “a very real stake” in the UK’s future.

Ms Leadsom later apologised to her opponent and withdrew from the race, leaving Mrs May unopposed. The now Baroness May went on to lead the party and was prime minister from 2016 to 2019.

Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick are the final two candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative leader after James Cleverly, the candidate from the centre, was knocked out of the contest last week.

The party membership vote will close at 5pm on Thursday 31 October and the winner will be announced on Saturday 2 November.