In Great Britain, the fourth round of voting for the future leader of the Conservative Party, who will assume the position of prime minister, has ended. According to its results, former Minister for Equality Kemi Badenoch dropped out of the race.
Sky News writes about it.
Three candidates will continue to fight for the prime ministerʼs seat: former finance minister Rishi Sunak, junior trade policy minister Penny Mordaunt and foreign minister Liz Truss. The leader of the race is Sunak. He gained 118 votes of MPs. Truss has 86, and Mordaunt has 92.
On Wednesday, July 20, the last round of voting by MPs will take place, during which two finalists will be chosen. The next day, the British Parliament will go on vacation. During this time, members of the Conservative Party across the country will vote by post for the new leader. The result will be announced on September 5.
- On June 6, members of the Conservative Party held a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson due to the results of an investigation into the parties held in the prime ministerʼs office during the quarantine. Investigators determined that in 2020 and 2021, parties were held in the office without complying with quarantine measures, which the government introduced throughout Great Britain due to the coronavirus. Participants were fined. Johnson admitted his guilt, apologized and announced his willingness to pay the fine. According to the voting results, the Prime Minister received a vote of confidence and did not resign.
- Within a month, a scandal broke out again — due to the appointment of Christopher Pincher, who was accused of harassing two colleagues, to a position close to Johnson. There are versions that Johnson himself knew about this, but appointed Pincher anyway. The British prime minister again publicly apologized for such a decision but emphasized that he would not resign.
- At the beginning of July, more than 50 members of his cabinet and high-ranking officials left Johnson due to scandals. The next day, he appointed new government members, but on July 7, Johnson announced that he was resigning as head of government and leader of the Conservative Party. He will serve as the head of the party and the government until a new one is elected.
- On July 12, the Labor Party initiated a vote of no confidence; on July 13, the British government initiated a vote of confidence in itself.
- On July 18, Johnsonʼs government avoided a vote of no confidence. After five hours of debate, the House of Commons of Great Britain could not gather a sufficient number of votes — Johnsonʼs government was supported by 349 MPs, 238 opposed.