UK: Theresa May leads first round of voting

(Baonghean.vn) - Early this morning (July 6) Vietnam time, the first round of voting to select the British Prime Minister candidate took place, with an overwhelming victory belonging to Home Secretary Theresa May.

Theresa May leads the first round of voting. Photo: Bloomberg.

The result means that Mrs May is almost certain to be one of the final two candidates competing for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party - who will also take over as the new British Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Labour Secretary Stephen Crabb announced his withdrawal shortly after the results were announced and gave his support to Mrs. May. This series of new developments shows that the race for the British Prime Minister's seat is increasingly tense and fierce.

According to the voting results, Mrs. May won 165 votes from the ruling Conservative Party MPs. Behind her was Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom with 66 votes, third was Justice Minister Michael Gove with 48 votes. Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb received 34 votes, coming in fourth. In last place was former Defense Secretary Liam Fox with 16 votes.

The result has changed the situation significantly because according to the rules, the candidate with the lowest score after each round of voting is eliminated. Combined with Mr. Crabb's announcement of his withdrawal, the race is now down to three candidates, with only Mrs. May supporting remaining in the EU.

However, in her latest statement, she affirmed that Brexit is still Brexit, and rejected the possibility of an early general election as well as a second referendum.

She also announced that if she is elected, the British government will not trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the process of leaving the EU before the end of this year, despite increasing pressure from the bloc's leaders.

From a little-known politician, the second "pink shadow" in the race, Energy Minister Leadsom, has had more opportunities to advance further when receiving the support of former London Mayor Boris Johnson - the head of the campaign to leave the EU.

Meanwhile, candidate Gove has vowed to deliver on the Brexit campaign's promise to spend £100m a week on the National Health Service in a bid to win the support of pro-Brexit Tory MPs.

The next round of voting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, July 7, to choose the final two candidates. The final results will be announced in early September. From now until then, the candidates have 2 months to campaign in front of 150,000 Conservative MPs./.

Lan Ha

(According to AFP)