Rishi Sunak wins first round in contest to replace Boris Johnson

London — Former British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the first round of voting to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as two candidates were eliminated.

Sunak scored 88 votes, ahead of Penny Mordaunt on 67 and foreign minister Liz Truss on 50. Finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated.

Conservative MPs  voted on Wednesday to narrow the field of eight candidates hoping to succeed Johnson.

Three of the 11 initial challengers for the premiership fell away on Tuesday after failing to secure enough support from their colleagues. Rishi Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister last week helped precipitate Johnson’s fall, was the favourite.

His successor Nadhim Zahawi and foreign minister Liz Truss were also among the remaining candidates.

Less familiar figures such as former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt  won notable support ahead of Wednesday's vote.

A YouGov poll of 800 of the about 200,000 members found Mordaunt, a former defence minister but less well known among the public at large, would beat any of the others in a run-off and had a huge lead over Sunak who fared badly against almost all his rivals.

Daunting challenges

Whoever wins will face a daunting in-tray while having to rebuild public trust bruised by a series of scandals involving Johnson. 

“I am ... proud of the leadership I have given and I will be leaving soon with my head held high,” Johnson, who is not endorsing any successor, told parliament.

Britain’s economy is facing rocketing inflation, high debt and low growth, leaving people grappling with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades.

All this is set against the backdrop of an energy crunch worsened by the war in Ukraine, which has sent fuel prices soaring.

As the contest intensifies, some of the candidates have offered a series of eye-catching tax cutting pledges, while some of their supporters have turned on their rivals.

Sunak said on Tuesday it was not credible to offer more spending and lower taxes, and that he was offering honesty “not fairy tales”.

Reuters