Six out of eight candidates for UK PM advance to second round

Six candidates for the post of the UK prime minister and Conservative Party leader advanced to the second round, Graham Brady, chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee, which is involved in electing the party’s leaders, said on Wednesday.

In order to pass on to the second round, a candidate had to enlist support of at least 30 fellow party members.

As a result, the following candidates have been cleared for the second round of voting scheduled for July 14: former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak (88 votes), Deputy Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt (67), Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (50), member of parliament Kemi Badenoch (40), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons Tom Tugendhat (37), and Attorney General for England and Wales Sue-Ellen Braverman (32).

Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi and former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are now out of the running.

The Conservative Party faction in the House of Commons needs to narrow down the choice to two candidates before July 21 when the parliament starts a recession. The entire party will then select the leader to replace Boris Johnson. The name of that leader will be announced on September 5.