BORIS Johnson is all but certain to be the next UK’s Prime Minister after the former Foreign Secretary cleaned up in the first round of voting in the Tory party’s leadership contest.
In the end, it wasn’t even close, with the Eton-educated toff winning the support of 114 Tory MPs, nearly a third of the parliamentary party.
Second placed Jeremy Hunt took just 43.
Andrea Leadsom, who made it to the final two in the party’s leadership contest in 2016, was turfed out in the first round, winning the support of just 11 MPs.
Also eliminated from the crowded contest were Esther McVey and Mark Harper, taking the number of candidates seeking to replace Theresa May, down from 10 to seven.
Voting continues next week, with the parliamentary party whittling down the field until just two candidates remain.
It’s then up to the Tory membership to choose who gets to be the UK’s next Prime Minister.
Despite the scale of Johnson’s victory, and calls for them to drop out, the candidates remaining in the race insisted they still had a chance.
Dominic Raab, who received just 27 votes, said his campaign was “just getting started and we’ve got a good base to build on”.
In a video Michael Gove, who came third, exceeding expectations after his campaign was derailed by accusations of hypocrisy over his previous use of cocaine, said he was “ready to lead”.
A member of Gove’s campaign team said: “Everyone had written us off. People said we were going backwards. But we gained support and are in touching distance of second. It’s all to play for.”
Johnson posted on Twitter: “Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go.”
When voting resumes on Tuesday, candidates will need to secure at least 33 votes to remain in the race.
A campaign spokesman for Sajid Javid said the result showed that the party had “sent a very strong message that it wants fresh ideas in the race. That’s going to have to coalesce around somebody.
“Saj has had a good week, momentum is with him”.
Matt Hancock tweeted: “Thanks so much for the fantastic support – terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for.”
In a startling interview, Rory Stewart, who squeaked past the threshold to remain in the contest, said he would consider toppling a Johnson Government over Brexit.
Asked what he would do if, as reports suggested, Johnson “prorogued” Parliament over the Brexit deadline – effectively closing the Commons to stop MPs taking action to prevent a hard-Brexit – Stewart told Sky News: “Number one, let’s get Boris to be straight. Does he or does he not consider locking the doors of Parliament to be acceptable? That is an unconstitutional, improper, really disturbing suggestion that you try to get something through by locking the doors of parliament.
“Answer us. I’ve been asking for a week, ‘Boris, are you going to lock the doors of Parliament?’ If so, tell people, because we want to know what kind of leader or prime minister we are voting for.
“But he won’t be able to. I guarantee you, if he were to try, I and every other member of parliament will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of parliament and we will bring him down because you do not, ever, lock the doors on parliament in this country, or in any other country with any respect in the world.”
McVey, who was eliminated from the leadership contest, said she would speak to the remaining candidates before deciding would best keep out the “Marxist Government” of Jeremy Corbyn.
In a statement, she said: “I am extremely grateful to those people who voted for me in this election and to the fantastic team who have supported my campaign.
“I am pleased to have had a platform to make the case for Blue Collar Conservatism, a clean break from the EU and the need to invest money into schools, policing and a proper pay rise for our public sector workers.
“I will speak to the remaining candidates to see who is best placed to deliver on that programme.”
The remaining seven candidates have been invited to take part in a televised debate on Channel 4 News this Sunday night.
All have confirmed attendance apart from Johnson.
WHO’S MADE IT THROUGH?
IN
Boris Johnson 114
Jeremy Hunt 43
Michael Gove 37
Dominic Raab 27
Sajid Javid 23
Matt Hancock 20
Rory Stewart 19
OUT
Andrea Leadsom 11
Mark Harper 10
Esther McVey 9
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