Six advance in Tory race for Downing Street, with Sunak in the lead

Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt in second place; Hunt and Zahawi out of contest

Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Rishi Sunak speaking to the media at an event to launch his campaign to be the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister, in London, Britain, July 12, 2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters

At the end of the first round of voting for a new party leader and the next Prime Minister of the U.K., Conservative MPs on Wednesday sent six of the eight candidates to round two.

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed Chancellor eight days ago, did not get the minimum 30 votes needed from their colleagues and were sent out of the race.

Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor who resigned from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet on Tuesday last week, got 88 votes, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt in second place with 67 votes.

Others who will go on to the second round, which will be held on Thursday, are Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (50 votes), former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the British Parliament, and Attorney-General Suella Braverman.

In each subsequent round, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated until a winner is declared on September 5.