V
oting has ended the first vote of Tory MPs to choose Boris Johnson’s successor.
The eight candidates – Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt, Jeremy Hunt, Nadhim Zahaoui and Suella Braverman – battled to secure the support of at least 30 MPs to get through the first round of voting, which ended at 3.30pm h. Results are expected at 5 p.m.
The prime minister earlier said he would leave office “with his head held high” in a bitter row with Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons.
Mr Johnson told PMQs he was not leaving “at a time of my choosing” but that he remained “proud” of his record in government.
Ms Mordaunt, in her introduction, said she was the candidate Labor “feared most”.
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She was backed by a poll which suggested she would win a run-off to become the next Tory leader and prime minister if she made it to the bottom two candidates.
YouGov’s preliminary poll of 876 party members, who will decide between the final two candidates to replace Mr Johnson, showed Ms Mordaunt leading by 27%.
In second place is Ms. Badenoch with 15%, followed by Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss with 13%.
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Penny Mordaunt is the “clear favourite” according to William Hill
Penny Mordaunt is the “clear favourite” to replace Boris Johnson as the next leader of the Conservative Party, according to William Hill.
The bookie has odds of 4/6 on the Trade Secretary to win the Tory leadership contest.
The poll shows Chancellor Rishi Sunak as the second most popular candidate at 10/3, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has a 7/2 chance of winning.
William Hill spokesman Tony Kenny said: “After the poll results revealed that Penny Mordaunt was the clear favorite among Conservative Party members to replace Boris Johnson, punters lined up to back the Secretary of State for Trade.
“Mordaunt is the first odds-on candidate in the betting to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and is now a strong favorite at 4/6, with Rishi Sunak next in the race at 10/3.”
William Hill odds
The next permanent Conservative leader after Boris Johnson:
Penny Mordaunt – 4/6
Rishi Sunak -10/3
Liz Truss -7/2
Kemi Badenoch -20/1
Tom Tugendhat -28/1
Suella Braverman -100/1
Jeremy Hunt -100/1
Nadhim Zahawi – 200/1
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Voting closed on the first ballot for Tory leader
Former chief whip Sir Gavin Williamson, a supporter of Rishi Sunak, was one of the last MPs to vote.
He appeared at 3.26pm, just four minutes before the polls closed at 3.30pm. Results are expected at 5 p.m.
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Explained: Who are the latest 8 Tory leadership contenders?
Tory leadership: Who are the final 8 candidates?
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Steve Baker says ‘every Eurosceptic’s heart is with Zuela’
Steve Baker, a leading supporter of Suella Braverman, said: “As far as I can see, every Eurosceptic’s heart is with Suella.”
But he admitted that some Brexiteers had made other “calculations” about who to back.
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Exclusive: RMT announces new strikes
Workers at rail operators and Network Rail will strike on July 27 over a dispute over pay, working conditions and conditions, the RMT union has announced.
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Trot votes
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, among the contenders to replace Boris Johnson, smiled as she arrived to vote in the first stage of the contest.
Ms Truss, who avoided the queues as the early voting fever died down, said nothing on her arrival in the House of Commons committee room.
About 300 lawmakers are believed to have voted so far in the race, campaign watchers said.
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Two thirds of the votes cast
At least two-thirds of Conservative MPs have already voted in the first ballot in the race to replace Boris Johnson, campaign watchers told the PA news agency.
Suella Braverman voted in the race after 2pm, after a busy start to proceedings in which Jacob Rees-Mogg, Michael Gove, Ben Wallace, Priti Patel and other senior Tories voted to find a successor to the Prime Minister.
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Watch: Johnson raises prospects of early departure from No.10
Johnson raises the prospect of an early exit from No.10
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First votes for a new prime minister
The first MPs have voted in the Tory leadership race, in the first ballot of the race to replace Boris Johnson, with Rishi Sunak the first candidate to vote.
Tory MPs began queuing shortly before 1.30pm to vote, forming a single line as they waited to enter the House of Commons committee room.
Mr. Sunak, the favorite in the race who is expected to clear the first ballot with ease, smiled and appeared relaxed as he waited in line.
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Mordaunt is on course to become Prime Minister if he makes the final vote – a poll
Penny Mordaunt is the clear favorite to become the next Prime Minister if she makes it to the final vote, according to a new YouGov poll.
Under the rules of the contest, the number of candidates will be whittled down by MPs to just two before being put to a vote by party members.
According to YouGov, Ms Mordaunt – the Trade Secretary – has a convincing lead over all other candidates among party members.
The poll showed that, given a choice against Rishi Sunak, 67 percent would vote for Ms. Murdan, compared to just 28 percent for Mr. Sunak.
Meanwhile, 55 percent would vote for her in a race against current foreign secretary Liz Truss.
The poll of more than 800 party members dealt a blow to the campaign of Rishi Sunak, who currently has the most MPs’ support, as it found he would lose to most other candidates in a two-way battle.
It found there were only two candidates Mr Sunack had ahead in the poll in the final vote among Tory members: Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman.
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