Theresa
May out in front in Tory leadership race as Fox eliminated, Crabb
drops out
Home
secretary wins first round of election, with Leadsom second and Gove
trailing in third.
By PAUL DALLISON
7/5/16, 7:41 PM CET Updated 7/5/16, 9:12 PM CET
Theresa May was the
clear winner in a first round of voting on who should be the next
leader of the Conservative Party and British prime minister, with
Liam Fox finishing last and being eliminated.
May had the support
of 165 MPs, way ahead of Andrea Leadsom on 66 votes, Michael Gove on
48 and Stephen Crabb on 34.
Fox, a former
defense secretary and Brexiteer who finished third in a leadership
contest 11 years ago, received just 16 votes. Under the election
rules, the person finishing last drops out.
Later on Tuesday
evening, Crabb dropped out of the race.
“I am pleased with
this result, and very grateful to my colleagues for their support
today,” said a statement from May after the vote. “There is a big
job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the
best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for
everyone.”
“I am the only
candidate capable of delivering these three things as prime minister,
and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of
drawing support from the whole of the Conservative party. I look
forward to continuing the debate about Britain’s future — in
parliament and across the country.”
The race has not
gone according to predictions made in the hours after the Brexit
vote, when Boris Johnson was the overwhelming favorite to become
prime minister.
Gove had been
expected to be Johnson’s number two in what many called a “Brexit
dream ticket.” But the former London mayor was forced out of a
leadership bid at the last minute, after Gove unexpectedly pulled his
support and announced his own candidacy.
The manner of Gove’s
betrayal put off many MPs from backing him and Johnson gained a
measure of revenge on Monday by backing Leadsom. Johnson said Leadsom
“offers the zap, the drive, and the determination essential for the
next leader of this country … she possesses the qualities needed to
bring together Leavers and Remainers in the weeks and months ahead.”
The race is overseen
by the party’s influential committee of backbench MPs, the 1922
Committee. Its executive has said it will use the process used in
2005 to elect David Cameron, which means Tory MPs choose two
candidates and then party members vote. The 1922 Committee said it
wants the process concluded by September 9.
The next round of
voting takes place on Thursday.
Authors:
Paul Dallison
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