Tory vote live: Rory Stewart eliminated from leadership race
Rory Stewart has been eliminated from the Conservative leadership race after the third round of voting by Tory MPs, as Boris Johnson again topped the ballot.
Here’s the latest:
7pm
Watch: Who’s left in the leadership race?
6.55pm
Jeremy Hunt highlighted five reasons why he wants to be prime minister.
5 reasons why I want to be PM: 1. Best chance of getting a better Brexit deal 2. Entrepreneur who'll turbocharge economy 3. Reformer who'll abolish illiteracy 4. Foreign Sec who'll make Britain walk tall in the world 5. Campaigner who will win over young people Come on board!
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 19, 2019
6.50pm
Michael Gove said he was “delighted” with the result.
Delighted to have made it through! It’s great to have gained the support of 10 more colleagues and closed the gap to second once again #ReadyToLead #Gove4PM pic.twitter.com/u1e9GqwKB9
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) June 19, 2019
6.45pm
Watch: Rory Stewart eliminated
6.40pm
A spokesman for Sajid Javid was bullish about his chances, saying he had been “underestimated all his life”, and he was not going to be pulling out of the race.
“He’s in it to win it,” he added. “And he’s going to be prime minister.”
On the issue of votes being lent a spokesman for Mr Javid said: “He’s never borrowed anything from anybody in his life.”
He added the Home Secretary was the “only candidate with a clear plan to unite Leave and Remain MPs”.
6.30pm
Asked if he was deflated, Mr Stewart told Sky News: “No, I’m feeling energised: the reality is you never know what MPs get up to in a secret ballot. They clearly decided that they were going to back a winner and they’re going to go in other directions.”
He said he was surprised that he had lost 10 votes, and did not understand why, adding: “But something in the air must have made them sense that something was going in the other direction.”
Mr Stewart, who would not say who he would now back, added that he was looking forward to seeing his two children, aged two and four, adding: “I’ve been getting up at six in the morning and going to bed at two in the morning.”
6.27pm
6.25pm
Sajid Javid said he was “delighted to make it through”.
Delighted to make it through to the final day of MP voting. Grateful for the support of many excellent colleagues. We can do this! #TeamSaj #BrexitAndBeyond
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 19, 2019
Thank you @RoryStewartUK for the positive impact you have had on this campaign. You’ve injected it with real humility, authenticity, and pragmatism. Like many I look forward to seeing the contribution you will make to our party and the country in the future.
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 19, 2019
6.20pm
And then there were four – the remaining candidates for the Tory leadership: Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid.
6.17pm
Thank you once again to friends and colleagues for your support in the third ballot – especially on my birthday! We’ve come a long way but we have much further to go.
Join the #BackBoris team 👉 https://t.co/tGRXu94CmT pic.twitter.com/p5ImzGTKDf
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 19, 2019
6.15pm
I am so moved & inspired by the support I have received over the last few weeks – it has given me a new faith in politics, a new belief in our country. I didn’t get enough MPs to believe today – but they will 🙂 I remain deeply committed to you and to this country. #RoryWalksOn
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) June 19, 2019
Three times now MPs have chosen me as the person best-paced to take on Boris. If I make it to the final I will put my heart & soul into giving him the contest of his life: in politics today the unexpected often happens. The stakes too high to allow anyone to sail through untested
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 19, 2019
6.10pm
Here are the results of the third round of voting by Tory MPs:
– Michael Gove: 51
– Jeremy Hunt: 54
– Sajid Javid: 38
– Boris Johnson: 143
– Rory Stewart: 27
6pm
Rory Stewart has been eliminated from the Tory leadership race.
5.15pm
Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson said “never comment on numbers” as he left the voting room.
5pm
4.45pm
4.30pm
Theresa May emerged from the third voting round to tell journalists “as I told you yesterday, none of your business” with a smile and a wag of her finger.
4.15pm
Speaking in the committee corridor outside the room where MPs were voting, Rory Stewart said he believed he had won support from two former backers of Dominic Raab, who was eliminated yesterday.
But Mr Stewart said he worried he may have lost support from a “female proxy voter”.
He said the “dark arts of Gavin Williamson’s proxy votes” could swing things, adding “this is all a mystery but we will know at 6 o’clock”.
4pm
3.50pm
Environment Secretary Michael Gove told reporters after he voted: “I’ve got wonderful support from wonderful people, so fingers crossed.”
3.30pm
Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who only just survived the second round of voting, said he was “quietly confident” this time.
Asked where he expected to have won votes from, he said: “We’ll see – I’ll explain afterwards when I’ve won.”
Voting now alongside some brilliant colleagues. My pitch to those not currently backing me: 1) We need a robust but constructive contest.2) I am the only credible change candidate with the experience to do the job and ability to unite the party #TeamSaj pic.twitter.com/KPvdYzPzLE
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) June 19, 2019
3.20pm
Frontrunner Boris Johnson mumbled and smiled but did not answer questions from reporters after he voted in the third ballot.
3.15pm
Voting is under way in the third ballot in the Conservative Party leadership contest.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, asked if he had enough supporters to survive the round, said: “I think so.”