Former British Foreign Secretary could become Prime Minister to replace Mrs. May
Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is likely to become Prime Minister with 40% of the vote, the highest among the eight candidates running for election.
On May 26, two days after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation as leader of the Conservative Party from June 7, paving the way for the election of a new Prime Minister, eight candidates from the party announced they would run for the election, Reuters reported.
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| 8 candidates running for Conservative Party Chairman and British Prime Minister. Photo: The Guardian |
Although the deadline for registering to run for office is June 10, the race for prime minister has already begun to heat up with eight Conservative MPs announcing their candidacy.
By law, anyone can run for office if they have the support of their party's members in the House and Senate. Candidates are eliminated until only two remain, and party members vote to decide the winner.
According toGuardian,The eight Conservative candidates include: Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raag, former Speaker of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey and Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
The Conservative Party leadership now hopes a new leader will be chosen by the end of July. During this time, Mrs May will continue to act as prime minister until a new prime minister is chosen.
Clash of the Olds
A week before British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced his intention to run for the position of Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister. Mr. Johnson served as Foreign Secretary under Mrs. May, but resigned due to disagreements with Mrs. May's Brexit plan. According to British betting experts on May 24, the possibility of Mr. Johnson becoming Prime Minister is 40%, the highest among the candidates.
At an economic conference in Switzerland on May 24, Mr. Boris Johnson said: “We will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal. That is the best way for
England".
Among the eight candidates running this time, there are two former candidates, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom. These two people ran for prime minister after the 2016 referendum with Home Secretary Theresa May, who later won.
At the time, Mr Gove was Justice Secretary. After Mrs May became Prime Minister, she appointed him Environment Secretary.
In the 2016 race, Ms. Leadsom was the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and later became the Speaker of the House of Commons under Prime Minister May. Ms. Leadsom resigned on 22 May in protest at Ms. May’s mistakes, two days before Ms. May announced her resignation. Also two days after Ms. May announced her resignation, Ms. Leadsom announced that she would run for the election.
Leadsom is one of two female candidates running for the nomination. The other is former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey. Shortly after announcing her candidacy, McVey said she would support Britain leaving the EU on October 31, even without a deal. “The date is set,” she said. “We will not ask for an extension.”
The appearance of two female candidates also gives the British people more hope for a third female prime minister. At the end of her speech on May 24, Prime Minister Theresa May also expressed that hope. She said: "I am the second female prime minister of the United Kingdom but certainly not the last. I have worked with great and lasting gratitude for the opportunity to serve the country I love."
Whoever becomes the next British prime minister will face two major challenges: uniting a deeply divided British political system and angering European leaders who say they will not renegotiate the deals they struck with Mrs May.
