Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has topped the second round of voting in the race to become UK prime minister. He received 101 votes from his fellow MPs to replace Boris Johnson.
Out of 356 votes cast, Sunak received 101 votes, Penny Mordaunt was behind Sunak with 83 votes. Liz Truss is third on the list with 64 votes while fourth is Kemi Badenoch, who received 49 votes. The last two names on the list are Tom Tugendhat and Suella Braverman, who received 32 and 27 votes respectively.
Sunak Tops Second Round Of Voting
"I am incredibly grateful for the continued support from my colleagues and the wider public. I am prepared to give everything I have in service to our nation. Together we can restore trust, rebuild our economy and reunite the country," said Sunak in a tweet.
Mordaunt Is Also In A Strong Position
Mordaunt is also in a strong position in second place, and is also topping YouGov and Conservative Home polling as the favorite among the Tory Party membership. Braverman's promise to remove the authority of the European Court of Human Rights and cut to VAT on energy was not enough to win over enough votes from her colleagues, according to Daily Express.
Five Leaders Are Left In The Race
Sunak had also won the first round as he had topped the list with 88 votes from his colleagues. Now top five candidates on the list Sunak, Mordaunt, Truss, Badenoch, and Tugendhat are left in the race.
More Rounds Of Votes Will Keep Being Held
More rounds of votes will keep on being held, with the lowest scoring candidate being knocked out, until the race is cut down to two finalists. The final two contenders will face a runoff vote by about 180,000 Conservative Party members across the country, according to Metro.
More to follow
