Looking for a new prime minister
Successor to Boris Johnson: Ex-Treasury Secretary Sunak takes the lead in the first round of elections
Will succeed Boris Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak, ex-Finance Secretary of the UK
© Stefan Rousseau/ / Picture Alliance
Who will succeed Boris Johnson? The Conservative Tory Party in Britain is looking for a new leader and prime minister. The first round of voting has a clear winner.
Six candidates have advanced to the next round in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the British Conservative Party and Prime Minister.
Ex-Finance Secretary Rishi Sunak (88 votes), Trade Secretary Penny Mordaunt (67 votes), Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (50 votes), MP Kemi Badenoch (40 votes), Foreign Affairs Committee chief Tom Tugendhat (37 votes) and General Counsel Suella Braverman (32 votes), as British media reported.
Ex-Health Minister Jeremy Hunt (18 votes) and Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi (25 votes), on the other hand, did not make it over the hurdle of at least 30 votes.
Further voting round(s) in the race for Johnson’s successor
The next vote is scheduled for Thursday. In each subsequent round, the last-placed player is eliminated. Voting in the Conservative faction is expected to continue in the coming days until there are only two candidates left. These should then face a runoff election of the party members over the summer. A Johnson successor is to be chosen on September 5th.
Johnson resigned as party leader last week under massive pressure from his parliamentary group and cabinet. The prime minister had previously faced one scandal after another. However, he intends to remain in office until a successor is elected.