Six candidates passed the first round of voting in the UK Parliament on Wednesday (13) to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Former finance minister Rishi Sunak took the lead.
Six candidates passed the first round of voting in the UK Parliament on Wednesday (13) to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Former finance minister Rishi Sunak took the lead.
A week after Boris Johnson’s resignation was announced, two of the eight candidates were eliminated in the race for the Conservative Party’s leadership and UK prime minister.
According to the results reported by Graham Brady, who chaired the committee that organized the election, 42-year-old Sunak received 88 votes.
Penny Mordaunt, the rising Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, came second with 67 votes, ahead of Secretary of State Liz Truss with 50 votes.
The second round will be held on Thursday (14) and the goal is to pick two finalists before next week ends. The winner, chosen by 160,000 party members in the last internal elections of 2019, will be announced on September 5.
According to a YouGov poll of conservative voters on Wednesday, Mordaunt stands out in her voting intent and will beat all her opponents in the event of a conflict.
old hitler
Mordaunt, 49, compared conservatives to legendary Beatles musician Paul McCartney at the Glastonbury festival at the start of his campaign Wednesday. “We accepted all the new songs, but what we really wanted to hear were the good old songs that we knew the lyrics to: low taxation, reduced government, individual responsibility,” he said.
Other candidates still in the race, many of whom are unknown to the public, are Representative Tom Tugendhat, Attorney General Suella Braverman and former Secretary of State for Equality Kemi Badenoch. New finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former health minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated.
head up
Johnson, who resigned on July 7 after a series of scandals, told lawmakers on Wednesday that he was “proud” of his government. “It is true that I left at a time I did not choose,” he said in the weekly question session before Parliament. “But I’m leaving with my head held high,” he added.
In this unpredictable campaign, candidates try to persuade MPs in secret meetings. Several sessions by Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday passed. Television discussions are also planned in the coming days.
The campaign, which targets only Conservative Party members, also includes low blows and polemics.
Among the favourites, Sunak is the target of violent attacks from Johnson’s camp, accusing him of causing the prime minister’s departure on July 4th, initiating a wave of party members’ impeachment.
Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, an ardent supporter of Johnson, described the former minister as a “socialist” in the conservative camp.
But Sunak says his economic vision was inspired by ultra-liberal former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. But Johnson’s supporters prefer another Thatcher fan: Liz Truss, who remains in government despite last week’s massive stampede.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
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