Conservative MPs To Begin Voting In UK Prime Minister Race

The eight contenders

The eight candidates who have made it onto the ballot paper will have to secure at least 30 votes to stay in the race to become prime minister
It is the first of a series of secret ballots over the next few days to whittle the field down to a final two

EDITOR’S PICK

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Conservative leadership hopefuls are battling to secure the support of their colleagues, ahead of the first MPs’ vote in the contest for Downing Street.

The eight candidates who have made it onto the ballot paper will have to secure at least 30 votes to stay in the race to become prime minister.

It is the first of a series of secret ballots over the next few days to whittle the field down to a final two.

Voting will start at 13:30, with a result expected at 17:00 BST.

Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi have all secured the required 20 nominations from Tory MPs to make it onto the ballot later.

Ex-Health Secretary Sajid Javid and junior minister Rehman Chishti dropped out, after failing to pick up enough support.

The 30 vote threshold – which has been introduced to quickly narrow the field – could see a number of further candidates knocked out.

As campaigning continues, Trade Minister Ms Mordaunt – who currently has the second highest number of Tory MPs backing her – will formally launch her campaign on Wednesday morning.

FURTHER READING

Candidates will also appear at two further hustings events, as the race to secure endorsements heats up.

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Yinka Akanbi

Yinka is an aesthete and a cosmopolite.