After the vote, former London mayor whose backing Leadsom to win the race, said: “For the second time in history the Conservatives will have a female prime minster, proving that we are the not just the greatest but the most progressive party in Britain”.
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A ballot with Leadsom and May’s names will be mailed to the 150,000 some Conservative Party members and results will be announced September 9.
Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are going head to head to succeed David Cameron after justice secretary Michael Gove was knocked out of the contest, it emerged last night.
The two remaining candidates in the Conservative party leadership contest, Theresa May (left) and Andrea Leadsom, are seen in this combination of two photographs, released in London, Britain on July 7, 2016.
Boris Johnson ramped up the pressure on Mrs May to guarantee that European Union nationals living in Britain can remain here after Brexit. “I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay”.
“Britain was one of the first countries with a centre-right leaning government to take that step and many others are following suit and I’m very proud of that”, he said. Leadsom, 53, a junior energy minister, has never served in cabinet.
We have over forty years of legislation and regulation from which to extricate ourselves, and replicate should we choose to, and an exit deal to negotiate which is favourable to the United Kingdom and all her citizens.
Andrea Leadsom courted controversy with her comments about Theresa May’s childlessness.
Officials say that victor will be announced in early September, though there’s a chance that gets moved up in an effort to provide some stability post-Brexit.
She also won the support of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who had previously backed Michael Gove, and the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson.
Though he did not immediately announce his backing for either May or Leadsom, he said that he welcomes the fact that the United Kingdom will have its second female prime minister, and called for a “civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic debate”.
Pro-EU Mrs May and pro-Brexit Mrs Leadsom will now go head-to-head in a ballot of around 125,000 Conservative members across the country in the next few weeks.
Speaking to supporters and journalists, she sought to ease concerns among European Union migrants that they may have to leave Britain by saying those legally here are welcome to stay. She dominated the first stage of the selection process, in which the field is narrowed to two candidates through voting by the 330 Conservative members of the House of Commons.
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“I am clear from the people I have spoken to – party members – they don’t want to witness a slanging match, they don’t want to see any more backstabbing, they want to see a clean debate”. Yesterday he headed up a march in her support in the capital.
