Theresa May, home secretary of the United Kingdom, has won the first round of elections to replace David Cameron as prime minister.
May, who was tipped to be the second female prime minister of the UK, polled 165 votes, ahead of Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Stephen Crabb, who polled 66, 48 and 34 votes respectively.
Liam Fox polled 16 votes, and was therefore eliminated from the race.
With Fox out of the race, and four candidates left, a secret ballot will be held on Thursday, where one more candidate will be dropped, leaving three candidates to contest for party leadership.
On Tuesday, July 12, the remaining three candidates will contest at a secret ballot, where the two leading candidates will be chosen for a vote by the entire conservative party.
The winner of that vote will become the new Conservative leader and prime minister of the United Kingdom. The winner is expected to be officially named in September.
May, who was against Brexit, had initially said she is the best person for the job, adding on Tuesday after her victory that she is pleased to have the support of the majority of the party leadership.
According to BBC, she said there is a “big job to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU” and to “make Britain work for everyone”.
“I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as prime minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party,” she said.
