Britain will be one step closer to finding a new Prime Minister today
David Cameron announced he was resigning as Prime Minister shortly after it became clear he had lost the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU last month.
330 MPs will start voting at 11 a.m. BST (6.00 a.m. ET) and voting will be closed at 6 p.m. BST (1.00 p.m. ET). The results will be released around 7 p.m. BST (2.00 p.m. ET) and the politician with the least amount of votes will be eliminated.
The candidates are:
- Theresa May
- Andrea Leadsom
- Michael Gove
- Stephen Crabb
- Liam Fox
After this round, there will be another vote on Thursday, and one more on July 12, which will leave only two MPs in the race. Then Conservative party members will be sent a ballot paper by post to choose which out of the two people they want as leader. To be a member of the Conservative party you pay £25 ($33). However, if you are a member of the armed forces, you pay £15, or if you are aged under 23, you pay £5.
The winner will be announced on September 9.
Boris Johnson backs Andrea Leadsom
The race for the next Tory leader and PM has been fraught with drama over the last two weeks after Cameron announced his resignation.
Former London Mayor and leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson was primed to be one of the favourites but he shockingly stepped out of the race.
Even fellow MPs, like Nadine Dorries, were shocked:
This was because Michael Gove, a former Johnson ally, surprised everyone last week by announcing his leadership bid - which effectively forced Vote Leave associate Boris Johnson out of the running. Meanwhile, accusations of Gove being a "back-stabber" continue to mount, as he publicly declared for years that he was not interested in becoming the PM and had backed Johnson for the role just days before.
On Monday, Johnson publicly backed junior minister Andrea Leadsom to become Britain's next Prime Minister.
In a statement on Facebook, Johnson said: "Andrea Leadsom offers the zap, the drive, and the determination essential for the next leader of this country."
Leadsom raced past Gove in the betting odds on Friday and her chances have surged even more over the weekend - putting her in second place favourite to win.
May, who is currently Home Secretary, has the declared support of 115 MPs, which accounts for 35% of the parliamentary Conservative Party. Leadsom currently has 40 declared supporters.
Gove has 26 declared supporters, while Crabb has 23. Fox is in last place with 9.