Six candidates still in race to replace Johnson

LONDON • Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the first round of voting to succeed Mr Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as two candidates were eliminated.

Mr Sunak scored 88 votes, ahead of junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt on 67 and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 50.

Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi and former Cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated.

Lawmaker Kemi Badenoch received 40 votes, while Mr Tom Tugendhat took 37 and Ms Suella Braverman won 32.

Three of the 11 initial challengers for the premiership fell away on Tuesday after failing to secure enough support from their colleagues, but the contest remains crowded.

A YouGov poll of 800 of the about 200,000 members found Ms Mordaunt, a former defence minister but less well known among the public at large, would beat any of the others in a run-off and had a huge lead over Mr Sunak, who fared badly against almost all his rivals.

The eight candidates had to each secure 30 votes from the party's 358 Members of Parliament (MPs) to get through to the next round of voting, while the candidates with the fewest backers would be eliminated.

Whoever wins will face a daunting in-tray while having to rebuild public trust bruised by a series of scandals involving Mr Johnson, from the breaking of Covid-19 lockdown rules to appointing a lawmaker to government despite having been told of allegations of sexual misconduct.

"I am... proud of the leadership I have given and I will be leaving soon with my head held high," Mr Johnson, who is not endorsing any successor, told Parliament.

Britain's economy is facing rocketing inflation, high debt and low growth, leaving people grappling with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades.

All this is set against the backdrop of an energy crunch exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which has sent fuel prices soaring.

As the leadership contest intensifies, some of the candidates have offered a series of eye-catching pledges to cut taxes, while some of their supporters have turned on their rivals.

Mr Sunak said on Tuesday it was not credible to offer more spending and lower taxes, and that he was offering honesty, "not fairy tales".

Culture minister Nadine Dorries, who was fiercely loyal to Mr Johnson and is now backing Ms Truss, meanwhile accused Mr Sunak's team of "dirty tricks/a stitch up/dark arts" as part of a "Stop Liz" strategy.

Minister for Brexit opportunities Jacob Rees-Mogg told Sky News yesterday: "I believe his (Sunak's) behaviour towards Boris Johnson, his disloyalty means that I could not possibly support him."

Mr Johnson, who won a large majority in December 2019, announced last week that he would step down after a torrent of resignations from ministers and with many Conservative Party lawmakers in open revolt.

His would-be successors have stressed how they would offer integrity and trustworthiness in contrast, but face questions of their own, such as why they backed Mr Johnson for so long.

Mr Sunak, one of the first ministers to quit, was - like Mr Johnson - fined for breaking lockdown rules.

Political opponents say that the candidates have been focused only on winning the support of the right wing of the ruling party by talking about tax cuts and extra defence spending while offering little evidence of how it will be paid for.

Polls also suggest that while the Conservatives argue among themselves, they are falling significantly behind the main opposition Labour Party, although no election is scheduled for a couple of years.

Those who made it through yesterday's round will face a second vote of Conservative MPs today, and the numbers will be whittled down to a final two by July 21, with members then electing the new leader, who will be announced on Sept 5.

The government has also said it will hold a confidence vote in itself on Monday - which it is almost certain to win - after blocking an effort to bring one by the opposition Labour Party.

REUTERS