MAIDENHEAD MP and Home Secretary Theresa May has sailed through the second round of leadership voting, picking up 199 nods from her fellow Conservative MPs.
Mrs May, whose constituency covers Sonning, Wargrave, Charvil, Twyford and Hurst, picked up more than her rivals, Andrea Leadsom and Michael Gove, put together.
She will now face Andrea Leadsom, who picked up 84 votes, in the final push for the keys to Number 10, while Michael Gove was eliminated with 46 votes.
Speaking immediately after the result of the vote Mrs May said: “This vote shows the Conservative party can come together and under my leadership it will,” she says to applause from supporters outside the House of Commons.”
The results of the ballot yesterday (Thursday) means that the United Kingdom will definitely have its second female Prime Minister, 26 years after Margaret Thatcher stood down from Conservative leadership in 1990.
The leadership battle will now move into its final stage, with 150,000 Conservative Party members deciding between Mrs May and Mrs Leadsom. The result is expected to be announced in September 9.
