Boris Johnson supports Andrea Leadsom in Tory race

The first round of voting for the successor to David Cameron as leader of Britain’s governing Conservatives, and thus the new prime minster, has seen former Defence Minster Liam Fox eliminated, and Pensions minister Stephen Crabb pull out.

May had supported staying within the European Union bloc during the campaign, but now says the voters’ desire to leave as expressed in the June 23 referendum must be respected.

One of the five candidates will be eliminated on Tuesday evening, followed by subsequent rounds of voting on Thursday and next Tuesday until just two remain.

But Leave campaigner Dr Fox insisted the timing and circumstances of the contest meant Mrs May was the best placed candidate.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove in third vowed to fight on.

He said it was essential that the new leader, given that they would also be prime minister in a matter of weeks, have an understanding “at the top levels of government and of global affairs” and know how the Whitehall process worked. The victor will be named on 9 September.

Home Secretary Theresa May is in the lead while Westminster is rife with speculation about who will come second and face the party membership vote alongside her.

Leadsom, who is expected to make the final two with May, said in 2013 she did not think Britain should leave the EU. Leadsom is campaigning as a hardliner promising to end the free movement of European Union migrants while criticizing Theresa May for failing to guarantee those already living in Britain.

About Ms Leadsom, he said: “She’s not one of the mindless, tiny band of lunatics, who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the single market”.

He said he was “disappointed” to be knocked out but expressed no regrets about standing in the contest.

A reputation for tenacity and severity has drawn parallels between May and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – and not always in the best way, either.

Dominic Raab, Mr Gove’s campaign manager, put a courageous face on the result.

Tory MPs will keep voting until there are only two-candidates left, then it will be up to the rank and file party members to choose the next United Kingdom leader, who will have to navigate the country through exit talks with the EU.

But Andrea Leadsom received a boost in the form of prominent Brexit-backer Boris Johnson who threw his weight behind her campaign after abandoning his own dreams of taking the keys to Number 10.

There is another female candidate in second place.

In the first round of voting among Members of Parliament, the British Home Secretary secured 165 in a 330-strong parliamentary group.

If Gove is to overtake Leadsom, he is going to have to pick up a lot of votes from the Crabb pool.