Boris tops vote for next UK PM again

Of the six candidates in the fray after the first round last Thursday, Johnson polled 126 votes. Since the minimum votes needed to remain in the race was 33, Dominic Raab, who polled the least number of votes (30), was eliminated.

Favourite Boris Johnson retained the top spot on Tuesday in the second round of the first phase of the two-phase election to decide the next party leader and the United Kingdom’s next prime minister to replace Theresa May.

Conservative MPs will vote in further rounds, when those with the least votes are eliminated, until two remain. The party’s 1.2 lakh members will then vote on the two, to decide the next leader, who will also take over as the next prime minster. (REUTERS PHOTO)

Of the six candidates in the fray after the first round last Thursday, Johnson polled 126 votes. Since the minimum votes needed to remain in the race was 33, Dominic Raab, who polled the least number of votes (30), was eliminated.

Conservative MPs (313) will vote in further rounds, when those with the least votes are eliminated, until two remain. The party’s 1.2 lakh members will then vote on the two, to decide the next leader, who will also take over as the next prime minster.

The five candidates going forward to the next vote on Wednesday are: Johnson (126 votes), Jeremy Hunt (46), Michael Gove (41), Sajid Javid (33) and Rory Stewart (37).

The result will be announced in the week beginning July 22. The election has been triggered by May stepping down as leader of the Conservative party following intense criticism of her approach to Brexit, an issue that has dominated the campaigns of the candidates.