Boris Johnson has topped the first round of voting in the race to be the next Conservative Party leader and UK prime minister, Euronews reports.
He got 114 votes from Tory MPs while the three candidates with the fewest were eliminated: Esther McVey, Andrea Leadsom and Mark Harper.
That means the seven who will go through to the next round of voting are all men.
They are: Environment minister Michael Gove, Health minister Matt Hancock, Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, Interior minister Sajid Javid, Former foreign minister Boris Johnson, Former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, International development minister Rory Stewart.
The total number of votes cast was 313. Here’s is the breakdown of the votes:
Michal Gove: 30
Matt Hancock: 20
Mark Harper: 10
Jeremy Hunt: 43
Sajid Javid: 23
Boris Johnson: 114
Andrea Leadsom: 11
Esther McVey: 9
Dominic Raab: 27
Rory Stewart: 19
Candidates needed at least 16 votes to get through to the second round.
The second round will take place on June 18 with additional ballots scheduled for June 19 and 20 until there are just two candidates left.
A postal ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership will then be held to pick a leader. A new prime minister should be chosen by the end of July.
Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to replace May according to bookies. His closest rivals are Jeremy Hunt, currently foreign minister, and Andrea Leadsom, former leader of the House of Commons.
Reactions from candidates
Rory Stewart thanked his colleagues for voting for him and said “we can win this” in a tweet.
THANK YOU – to all my colleagues who voted for me. We can win this. Realism, action, unity, trust. Thank you #RoryWalksOn
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) June 13, 2019
Boris Johnson said he was “delighted to win the first ballot” but noted there was still “a long way to go”.
Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot, but we have a long way to go.https://t.co/tGRXu94CmT | @BackBoris pic.twitter.com/zVBNls2rew
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 13, 2019
For his part, Matt Hancock was happy to have “more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for”.
Thanks so much for the fantastic support – terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for #letsmoveforward
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) June 13, 2019
Domini Raab said he was “honoured” to have the support of his colleagues, adding he was the “change candidate who can be trusted to deliver Brexit by October, and has the vision and energy to take Britain forward.”
I’m honoured to have the support of so many brilliant colleagues today. This campaign is just getting started, and we've got a good base to build on.
I'm the change candidate who can be trusted to deliver Brexit by October, and has the vision and energy to take Britain forward.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) June 13, 2019
Esther McVey who did not make it through to the second ballot published a thank you note on Twitter.
A quick note from me. Thanks to everyone who has been and continues to be #WithEsther ✔️ and #BlueCollarConservatism pic.twitter.com/nmaNDJZiKW
— Esther McVey (@EstherMcVey1) June 13, 2019