LONDON(Sputnik) — In the first round of voting, Home Secretary Theresa May gained support of 165 Tory lawmakers, while Deputy Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom gained 66 votes, followed by Justice Minister Michael Gove who secured 48 votes, Labour Minister Stephen Crabb with 34 and lawmaker Liam Fox with 16 votes.
"Liam Fox is therefore eliminated… Stephen Crabb also confirmed he would drop out. That leaves three candidates in the ballot due on Thursday 7 July. The top two candidates from that will then face the party membership vote," the statement read.
The elections are held because the current Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation on June 24, a day after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. According to the rules, two candidates are chosen by the vote of the lawmakers and then the winner is chosen between them by all the 150,000 party members using postal vote.
