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| Tory leadership election: Leadsom beats Gove to join Theresa May on shortlist - live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 6.45pm BST | |
| 18:45 | |
| The choice of the next prime minister will be made by around 150,000 members of the Conservative Party now that Tory MPs have selected Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom as the two names to go on the voting slip. | |
| The winner, who needs more than 50% of valid votes cast, will be announced on 9 September, allowing her to answer prime minister’s questions in the Commons on 14 September and make her first major speech as Tory leader to the Conservative autumn conference in Birmingham on 5 October. | |
| Timings for the postal ballot papers to be sent out and returned are yet to be determined. But for those thinking they can join the Tories and influence the vote will be disappointed: the deadline for taking part in the election was three months before the close of voting - 9 June. | |
| 6.31pm BST | |
| 18:31 | |
| Chris Johnston | |
| Thanks to Andrew for the day’s coverage. He’s also left us with a sterling snapshot of the six things we know about the race to be the next Tory party leader - and thus prime minister: | |
| Related: Six things we know about the race to be Tory party leader - and PM | |
| Updated | |
| at 6.32pm BST | |
| 6.21pm BST | |
| 18:21 | |
| Andrew Sparrow | |
| Senior Tories in Scotland are backing Theresa May. This is from Ruth Davidson, the Conservative leader in Scotland. | |
| Serious times call for serious people and Theresa is a proper grown up who will assess all the evidence before making a decision. I trust her in the tough negotiations ahead to be able to go eyeball to eyeball with [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel, and not blink. | |
| It is important that the new prime minister is alive to the threats to our union that the SNP will try to engineer. And it is no surprise that those in leadership positions in the Conservative party in Scotland - myself in Holyrood, Annabel Goldie in the House of Lords, David Mundell in the Commons and our MEP Ian Duncan - are all agreed that the person most able to protect Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom is Theresa May. | |
| That’s all from me. | |
| My colleague Chris Johnston is taking over now. | |
| 6.16pm BST | |
| 18:16 | |
| ConservativeHome, the independent website for Conservative members, is backing Theresa May of the Tory leadership. Here is an extract from an article by its editor, Paul Goodman. | |
| May has said that “Brexit is Brexit”. In other words, there is no difference between the two candidates in terms of their aim. Some doubt that she means it. They point to the devoted Remainers who have queued up to support her: Ken Clarke, Anna Soubry, Damian Green, and so on. It may just be that these critics are right; it’s far more likely that they are wrong. This is not only because May, though as capable of being tricksy as any other politician, is straighter than many of them, but because she will know the consequences of backsliding. With a majority of only a dozen or so, her Government would fall. | |
| But either way, the plain fact now is that only May the Remainer can deliver Brexit through this Commons and Parliament. Leadsom cannot do so on a base of 84 votes. A win for her in the second stage of the contest would be a Jeremy Corbyn victory – in other words, an empty one. She might command the support of party members; she would already have been rejected by MPs, twice as many of whom would have voted for her opponent. The British political system is ultimately a Westminster-based system. Leaders must command the support of those they work with every day. This matters even more in government than in opposition, because the stakes for voters are so much higher. | |
| 6.12pm BST | 6.12pm BST |
| 18:12 | 18:12 |
| Here is Marina Hyde on the Conservative election result. | Here is Marina Hyde on the Conservative election result. |
| Related: So farewell then, Michael Gove. You were right about one thing | Related: So farewell then, Michael Gove. You were right about one thing |
| And here is an extract. | And here is an extract. |
| Even in the final hour, Gove was vainly trying to make the leap from character actor to leading man. A Spectator interview found him glossing the Boris knifing thus: “I compare it to a group of people standing outside a collapsing building, wondering who is going to rescue a child inside. I thought: well, I don’t think I’ve got either the strength or the speed for this, but as I looked around, I thought, God, I’m at least as strong and at least as fast as the others. I’ve got to try to save the child.” Spoken like the world’s creepiest arsonist. | Even in the final hour, Gove was vainly trying to make the leap from character actor to leading man. A Spectator interview found him glossing the Boris knifing thus: “I compare it to a group of people standing outside a collapsing building, wondering who is going to rescue a child inside. I thought: well, I don’t think I’ve got either the strength or the speed for this, but as I looked around, I thought, God, I’m at least as strong and at least as fast as the others. I’ve got to try to save the child.” Spoken like the world’s creepiest arsonist. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 6.12pm BST | at 6.12pm BST |
| 6.06pm BST | 6.06pm BST |
| 18:06 | 18:06 |
| This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith. | This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith. |
| Nicky Morgan announces she'll be backing Theresa May after Gove defeat. | Nicky Morgan announces she'll be backing Theresa May after Gove defeat. |
| 6.05pm BST | 6.05pm BST |
| 18:05 | 18:05 |
| Jon Ashworth, the shadow minister without portfolio, has issued a statement on the contest on behalf of the Labour party. | Jon Ashworth, the shadow minister without portfolio, has issued a statement on the contest on behalf of the Labour party. |
| Bravely, in the light of what is going on in his own party, he is criticising the Tories for their “bitter infighting”. He said: | Bravely, in the light of what is going on in his own party, he is criticising the Tories for their “bitter infighting”. He said: |
| It would be churlish not to recognise the Tories are moving to elect a woman leader and now Britain’s second female prime minister. But let’s not forget both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are part of a government which has failed the British people for six years. | It would be churlish not to recognise the Tories are moving to elect a woman leader and now Britain’s second female prime minister. But let’s not forget both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are part of a government which has failed the British people for six years. |
| Whilst they continue their bitter infighting over whether they are qualified for the job or not, the only record the public should pay attention to is their record of failure. | Whilst they continue their bitter infighting over whether they are qualified for the job or not, the only record the public should pay attention to is their record of failure. |
| They offer nothing new for working people, just more of the same. | They offer nothing new for working people, just more of the same. |
| 5.58pm BST | 5.58pm BST |
| 17:58 | 17:58 |
| Johnson says election result shows Tories 'the most progressive party in Britain' | Johnson says election result shows Tories 'the most progressive party in Britain' |
| Boris Johnson has issued a statement congratulating Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom. He said: | Boris Johnson has issued a statement congratulating Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom. He said: |
| For the second time in history the Conservatives will have a female prime minster, proving that we are the not just the greatest but the most progressive party in Britain. | For the second time in history the Conservatives will have a female prime minster, proving that we are the not just the greatest but the most progressive party in Britain. |
| I want to offer particular congratulations to Andrea Leadsom on her stunning achievement. She is now well placed to win and replace the absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive, confident and optimistic approach, not just to Europe, but to government all round. | I want to offer particular congratulations to Andrea Leadsom on her stunning achievement. She is now well placed to win and replace the absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive, confident and optimistic approach, not just to Europe, but to government all round. |
| 5.54pm BST | 5.54pm BST |
| 17:54 | 17:54 |
| Here is the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, with Martin Kettle, Polly Toynbee, Rafael Behr and Tom Clark discussing Chilcot and the Tory leadership. | Here is the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, with Martin Kettle, Polly Toynbee, Rafael Behr and Tom Clark discussing Chilcot and the Tory leadership. |
| Related: Iraq, Blair and Chilcot – Politics Weekly podcast | Related: Iraq, Blair and Chilcot – Politics Weekly podcast |
| 5.35pm BST | 5.35pm BST |
| 17:35 | 17:35 |
| What the Tory leadership election result means | What the Tory leadership election result means |
| Andrew Sparrow | Andrew Sparrow |
| 1 - The next prime minister will be a woman. Apologies for stating the obvious, but the new Conservative leader due to be announced on Friday 9 September will be only the second woman to serve as prime minister. The UK and Scottish governments will both have female leaders at the same time. And, if Hillary Clinton becomes US president, then three of the G7 leaders will be women – another first. | 1 - The next prime minister will be a woman. Apologies for stating the obvious, but the new Conservative leader due to be announced on Friday 9 September will be only the second woman to serve as prime minister. The UK and Scottish governments will both have female leaders at the same time. And, if Hillary Clinton becomes US president, then three of the G7 leaders will be women – another first. |
| 2 - And the next prime minister is likely to be Theresa May. May goes into the contest as the clear favourite. With 199 votes, May won the support of 60% of MPs. She is vastly more experienced than Andrea Leadsom and she is attracting significant support from Tories who voted leave, as well as those who, like her, voted remain. A YouGov poll of Conservative members earlier this week showed her well ahead of Leadsom. | 2 - And the next prime minister is likely to be Theresa May. May goes into the contest as the clear favourite. With 199 votes, May won the support of 60% of MPs. She is vastly more experienced than Andrea Leadsom and she is attracting significant support from Tories who voted leave, as well as those who, like her, voted remain. A YouGov poll of Conservative members earlier this week showed her well ahead of Leadsom. |
| 3 - But Andrea Leadsom has a real chance of winning. Over the last two days she has received quite a lot of hostile press coverage, including from rightwing papers like the Daily Mail and the Times, mostly about the fact that her City career does not seem to have been quite as high-powered as people assumed. But this does not seem to have cost her much support in the Commons. (I’m sad to report that Tory MPs obviously don’t take any notice of my blog.) Leadsom received 84 votes, 18 more than last time. More significantly, there is some evidence that her popularity is soaring among the grassroots. Although the YouGov figures show May well ahead of her among the membership, a ConservativeHome survey of party members this week showed her narrowly ahead of May. | 3 - But Andrea Leadsom has a real chance of winning. Over the last two days she has received quite a lot of hostile press coverage, including from rightwing papers like the Daily Mail and the Times, mostly about the fact that her City career does not seem to have been quite as high-powered as people assumed. But this does not seem to have cost her much support in the Commons. (I’m sad to report that Tory MPs obviously don’t take any notice of my blog.) Leadsom received 84 votes, 18 more than last time. More significantly, there is some evidence that her popularity is soaring among the grassroots. Although the YouGov figures show May well ahead of her among the membership, a ConservativeHome survey of party members this week showed her narrowly ahead of May. |
| This was a survey, not a poll, and therefore it is likely to be less reliable. Tory insiders believe it over-stated Leadsom’s support because activist Eurosceptics were probably more likely to participate than May-leaning armchair moderates. But they also believe that the trend it has identified – a surge towards Leadsom – is real. | This was a survey, not a poll, and therefore it is likely to be less reliable. Tory insiders believe it over-stated Leadsom’s support because activist Eurosceptics were probably more likely to participate than May-leaning armchair moderates. But they also believe that the trend it has identified – a surge towards Leadsom – is real. |
| 4 - Leadsom has two big advantages - and May might have to end up having to attack Leadsom’s inexperience quite brutally to overcome them. Leadsom’s plus points are: 1) that she is the most anti-Europe candidate; and 2) that she is the most new. In most of the Tory leadership contests anyone can remember the winner tended to be the relative newcomer with the most Eurosceptic pitch. This is particularly true of the only two previous contests involving all party members having a vote: 2001, which saw Iain Duncan Smith beat Ken Clarke; and 2005, which saw David Cameron beat David Davis. (Cameron is not more Eurosceptic than Davis now, but at the time he committed to taking the Tories out of the federalist EPP group in the European parliament.) But this is the first all-member ballot to elect a prime minister, instead of an opposition leader, and therefore it will be surprising if May does not end up stressing the dangers of electing someone so inexperienced. | 4 - Leadsom has two big advantages - and May might have to end up having to attack Leadsom’s inexperience quite brutally to overcome them. Leadsom’s plus points are: 1) that she is the most anti-Europe candidate; and 2) that she is the most new. In most of the Tory leadership contests anyone can remember the winner tended to be the relative newcomer with the most Eurosceptic pitch. This is particularly true of the only two previous contests involving all party members having a vote: 2001, which saw Iain Duncan Smith beat Ken Clarke; and 2005, which saw David Cameron beat David Davis. (Cameron is not more Eurosceptic than Davis now, but at the time he committed to taking the Tories out of the federalist EPP group in the European parliament.) But this is the first all-member ballot to elect a prime minister, instead of an opposition leader, and therefore it will be surprising if May does not end up stressing the dangers of electing someone so inexperienced. |
| 5 - Michael Gove has paid a heavy price for his treachery. It was a week ago today when he announced he was no longer supporting Boris Johnson and instead standing for leader on his own. Until that point the prospects of the Johnson/Gove ticket winning the leadership seemed very high indeed. But today all that’s left of that are Gove’s 46 votes – a mere 14% of the parliamentary party. Gove was clearly being punished for his disloyalty to his sometime friend. Interestingly, Gove’s vote actually went down by two since Tuesday – possibly because his ally Nick Boles was caught trying to hobble the Leadsom campaign aggressively. | 5 - Michael Gove has paid a heavy price for his treachery. It was a week ago today when he announced he was no longer supporting Boris Johnson and instead standing for leader on his own. Until that point the prospects of the Johnson/Gove ticket winning the leadership seemed very high indeed. But today all that’s left of that are Gove’s 46 votes – a mere 14% of the parliamentary party. Gove was clearly being punished for his disloyalty to his sometime friend. Interestingly, Gove’s vote actually went down by two since Tuesday – possibly because his ally Nick Boles was caught trying to hobble the Leadsom campaign aggressively. |
| 6 - There will be intense interest now in discovering whether “insurgency fever” has gripped the Conservative membership. In the past they have picked novice anti-Europeans as leader. But this leadership election is taking place against the backdrop of a general election victory last year, not a general election defeat, and it is hard to detect an appetite for radical change in the party. Also, members will be electing a prime minister. But the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader last year showed just how easy it is now for a candidate backed by a grassroots insurgency to beat a stuffy establishment rival. There is a limit to how far one can push the Leadsom/Corbyn parallel – she is a minister with mainstream backing, Corbyn was a maverick backbencher until elected leader – but they are both change candidates, with enthusiastic backing from outside the party (Ukip and the Greens respectively). If the Tory membership has become Kipperish in recent year, May will be in trouble. | 6 - There will be intense interest now in discovering whether “insurgency fever” has gripped the Conservative membership. In the past they have picked novice anti-Europeans as leader. But this leadership election is taking place against the backdrop of a general election victory last year, not a general election defeat, and it is hard to detect an appetite for radical change in the party. Also, members will be electing a prime minister. But the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader last year showed just how easy it is now for a candidate backed by a grassroots insurgency to beat a stuffy establishment rival. There is a limit to how far one can push the Leadsom/Corbyn parallel – she is a minister with mainstream backing, Corbyn was a maverick backbencher until elected leader – but they are both change candidates, with enthusiastic backing from outside the party (Ukip and the Greens respectively). If the Tory membership has become Kipperish in recent year, May will be in trouble. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.56pm BST | at 5.56pm BST |