Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss became the last two candidates standing on Wednesday after Penny Mordaunt was eliminated from the race to replace Boris Johnson as the UK’s prime minister.
In a nail-biting final parliamentary vote, Sunak managed to stay on top with 137 votes, gaining 19 more supporters after Kemi Badenoch was eliminated on Tuesday.
Mordaunt, previously the second most supported candidate, was knocked out with 105 votes, 13 more than the previous day, after failing to court enough Badenoch votes.
Truss, who has been trailing behind, successfully secured 27 new votes, pushing Mordaunt out with 113 votes.
Despite having voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, Truss gained the support of many hardline Brexiteer MPs after she secured a number of trade deals and demonstrated her willingness to override part of the Brexit deal regarding Northern Ireland.
Sunak’s campaign said the former chancellor of the Exchequer had secured a “clear mandate” from Tory MPs and will now “work night and day” to win the backing of the Conservative membership.
“The choice for members is very simple: who is the best person to beat Labour at the next election? The evidence shows that’s Rishi,” a statement from the campaign reads.
Truss thanked her supporters and paid tribute to all the candidates, and said she’s “excited” to make the case about her “bold new economic plan that will cut taxes, grow our economy, and unleash the potential of everyone in our United Kingdom.”
What’s Next
Sunak and Truss are expected to hold a number of online and in-person hustings around the UK where they engage with Conservative Party members, who will choose one winner to be the next prime minister.Some 160,000 party members will receive their ballot packs in the post in the first week of August.
Members can cast their votes either by post or online. The ballot will close at 5 p.m. on Sept. 2 and the result will be announced on Sept. 5.
On Sept. 6, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to formally tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.
Probe Launched Over Alleged Mordaunt Campaign Sabotage
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has launched a investigation into allegations that information had been leaked from within the civil service to damage Penny Mordaunt’s campaign.David Davis, one of Mordaunt’s most prominent backers within the Conservative Party, wrote to the cabinet secretary on Sunday to raise his concerns.
In a letter to Davis, Case confirmed he had launched an investigation.
“Thank you for your letter of [July 17], raising your concerns about the apparent leaking of information designed to influence the Conservative leadership election,” the letter reads.
“I have been very clear in writing with the civil service that it is paramount that public resources are not used to support leadership campaigns during the Conservative Party leadership election,” Case said.
“Further to that, unauthorised disclosure of government information to the media is clearly inappropriate. In light of these facts and the concerns you raise, I can confirm that I have launched a leak investigation into this matter.”
Case added that the investigation “will be completed as quickly as possible given the importance of the subject.”
Case gave no specific details of what the inquiry would focus on but The Telegraph newspaper has reported that it is thought to be linked to a leak to The Sunday Times newspaper related to accusations that Mordaunt was involved in watering down the legal process for transitioning by transgender people.
